41. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
C ARLY
I don’t know how long I’ve been here.
I stare out the window at the setting sun, fear tightening my stomach. It’s been hours at least. The two men have me in a dingy trailer that probably belonged to a hoarder at some point with how much random crap is lying around. There’s a coat of dust over everything and mold on the walls, which has me sneezing every couple of minutes. One of those sneezes nearly turns into a sob.
But I refuse to cry. I don’t have time to despair. I need to figure out a way out of here.
The men are standing right outside the door. I see their silhouette against the thin wood. I wish I could hear what they’re talking about. I wish I at least knew what they wanted from me so that maybe I could negotiate my release. They haven’t made any demands of me yet. They’ve just kept me lying here on the floor with my hands and feet tied behind me and no hope for escape.
No. My breath hitches as panic threatens. I can’t think like that. There’s always hope. I just need to find it.
I have a lot to fight for. For Micah. For my baby. For my family and friends and my damn degree that I worked so hard for. I’m going to get out of this and I’m going to survive and thrive. I won’t let them break me, no matter what comes.
When the door creaks open, I hold onto that resolve despite the fear pounding in my heart. Black boots approach me and I stare at them unblinkingly, unflinching. The bile rises in my throat, the stale scent of urine stinging my nostrils. I wonder how many people they’ve done this to, how many have been in the same position I am right now. I wonder how many of them survived.
You will survive. They won’t break you.
The Burned Man reaches down and grabs my shoulders. I flinch then, but he only sits me up and leans me against the wall. I refuse to show my fear. I stare at him dead in his cold eyes.
He grins, and it contorts his face to display cruel satisfaction.
“You know you look just like your cousin?” he says. “He had the same look on his face the first time I met him. When he and Rick decided to get involved in my pearl business with those other assholes. I told him that I liked the look in his eyes, and told him that I had another job for him to do, but he might not be ready for that. But once I told him the job was attached to five hundred thousand dollars, he said he would do it. He didn’t even care what it was at that point. He would do it because he wanted the money for two reasons. His mother and you.”
I keep staring at him, wondering where this talk is leading to. I suspect he’s trying to find my weakness, but I also think that there’s something more to it, something that I can’t understand yet.
Nate warned me about this man, but for some reason, he never told me the entire reason and never gave me the full story so that I would know why I had to avoid him. Almost as though he were reluctant to. The only reason Nate would be reluctant to share information like that is because he did something worse than what he’s in jail for, something he’s scared will make me judge him even harsher.
And that’s probably what this bastard is about to tell me.
“When I saw how good your cousin was at being resourceful and getting information, I made a deal with him,” he continues. “I told him that he won’t be able to keep up with the pearl trade forever. They were running out of the very finite resources and eventually, his partner Rick will get greedy and cut him off. In total, he’d be lucky to make a hundred K from that gig. What I was offering would give him five times the money. It would give him enough for you, him, and his mother to go somewhere far away and start a new life. And I didn’t care about the money, haven’t cared about it for a while. I only wanted one thing. Revenge.”
He pauses and the wind whistles against the floorboards. His eyes gleam, his voice a threatening whisper. “You know when they say money doesn’t buy happiness? I never understood that until I had it. The pearl business was going well. I had enough that I could stop whenever I wanted and retire somewhere nice. Like Boca. But I couldn’t. Because I was still so damn angry. Those pearls took everything from me. It took my father from me after his partner betrayed him that night the Pink Pearl went missing. They were supposed to make off with the loot together, but he got betrayed because that bastard fell in love with a bitch and they ran off together. The pearls took my mama too, because she drank herself into a stupor after it all happened, and the whole town found out that Daddy was a thief. It took my childhood, my future…” He chuckles mirthlessly. “Those damn things are cursed and they cursed me with a life of nothing but pain and suffering. And someone needs to pay for that.”
I understand only a little about what he’s talking about. Amelia told me about it once, about how she figured out from Madam T’s diary that Madam T and her lover Vincent, who was one of the pearl thieves, ran off after someone fatally shot her fiancé Victor. Grandpa told me the story too, in far more elaborate detail. I’m guessing the Burned Man’s father was one of the other thieves and he wants revenge for the betrayal.
“Please.” I try to reason with him. “I’m sorry about all that, but I have nothing to do with it. Or the Pearl.”
“I know,” he says and his burned hand caresses the side of my cheek, making me shiver on the inside. “A lot of innocent people got dragged into this hell. Me included. And you too. But you see the ones who should be suffering aren’t. They’re too busy enjoying a guiltless time, having made off with the loot. My dad’s partner and that damn lady didn’t die that night. They ran away and disappeared. Vincent was always really good at disappearing when he needed to. It’s what he did best. And she did it along with him. My father searched for them his whole life, wanting revenge. He could never go back to his family because of them and died in hiding from the police. And those two lovebirds probably lived the rest of their life happy and in love, while my old man was alone and depressed. Does that sound fair to you, Carly?”
Not knowing what else to do or say, I shake my head.
“Exactly. So here’s what I wanted Nate to do. He was supposed to help me find out where those two bastards were, or where their kids were. And he was supposed to help me make them pay.” The look in his eyes left no mystery about what he meant by “pay.”
“Nate told me before he got caught that he had a lead. But suddenly after the police arrested him, he had a change of heart. Suddenly he didn’t have a lead anymore. What do you think made him change his mind?”
Oh, God, Nate. My thoughts are echoing my horror. What did you get yourself into?
Now I understand why my cousin was reluctant to tell me this part. Because thievery and smuggling is one thing. But being involved in an elaborate scheme to get revenge on the innocent descendants of a man on behalf of another man who is driven mad with vengeance is a whole other thing altogether. And I can’t believe my cousin was actually involved in any of this in the first place, but this man would have no reason to lie to me.
My gut tightens as he keeps talking. “This isn’t just about the money or the pearl for me. This is about that lead. I want Nate to come and fulfill his end of the bargain. And the only two things Nate cares about is that mother of his and you.” He cocks his head. “The mother might have been an easier catch, but Jordan told me to go with you instead. That way we can kill two birds with one stone. Get Nate and the Pink Pearl from Declan Tudor. And if all goes well, once I have those, you’ll be let go.”
I swallow. I don’t think all will go well. Because I don’t think the cops will let Nate give out that information, and I don’t think I’ll be able to live with the knowledge that my freedom hinges on other people dying. I need to find a way to get out of here by myself.
“Of course,” he continues and as though he can read my mind, he gives me a threatening smile. “If you don’t play by my rules, I can always just kill you when I get what I want. I don’t want to have to do that, but I will if you annoy me enough. So don’t be stupid, alright? You’re right. This has nothing to do with you. You’re innocent here, and as long as you continue to be, I’ll make sure you live to see the end of it. Okay?”
I exhale shakily. I have no other choice so I just nod. He straightens. “Good. Now I’m going to call your honey and we’re going to tell you exactly what you’re going to say, okay?”
I nod again and the door opens, Jordan strolling in. I don’t know if he was standing there listening to our entire conversation but I suspect he was. His familiar scent cuts through the stale air as he gets close.
He’s holding a phone and he says, “I took your boyfriend’s number off your other phone. I’m going to contact him with this burner phone and when I do, you’re going to relay the following: You’re being held captive by two strangers. These are their demands: We want the Pink Pearl left at an earmarked location that will be sent to them tomorrow. We also want Nate Huntley. Failure to do either of these things will lead to your death. Understood?”
I look into his eyes, finding it hard to believe that this is the same man who I often walked by in the street and waved hello to. The same man who’s come to the Tiki Bar on several occasions, the same man that I would have counted amongst the handful of people I can actually stand in this town.
Then again, if someone like Rick could betray Emma, a girl he practically raised, then I suppose it’s easy for Jordan to betray me too.
I hold his gaze and, once again, it’s almost apologetic. But I know he’s not going to help me. He’s too blinded by hate and has himself in too deep with this man.
They make the call and hand me the phone.
“Hello?”
Micah’s voice sounds so panicked and tense that I want to cry already
“Micah, it’s me.”
“Carly.” His voice is a breath of relief. “Thank God. I’ve been so worried. Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
He’s quiet for a second, the tension throbbing in his voice when he asks, “Why?”
“Because, um... I’ve been kidnapped. And I have to tell you that they want the Pink Pearl to be delivered to a location that they will give you tomorrow. They also want Nate Huntley to be delivered too.”
“Nate?” Micah’s voice is confused and panicked. “You mean your cousin? What the hell does he have to do with it?”
“I can’t tell you that either.” And then suddenly emotion washes through me, all the fear I’ve been trying to hold back trembling to the surface. “I’m scared, Micah.”
“Carly, I’ll find you.” His voice is frantic. “I’ll find you, baby, okay? Just hang in there.”
“I love you.” I want it out there just in case I never get the chance again. I need him to know. “I love you, Micah. “
“I love you too, baby. So much.”
And then I get a risky idea and add, “Even if I’m trailer trash?”
Pain explodes across my cheek, and I scream. The phone is ripped from my ears and I stare up into the gleaming eyes of my captor who just slapped me.
“I told you not to try anything stupid,” he says. “Now why did you do that?”
“I’m sorry.” I didn’t think he would realize what I was doing. It was such an innocuous-seeming comment that I thought I could get away with it. But he’s smarter than I gave him credit for. And angrier too.
Jordan sighs in disappointment as the Burned Man’s stare bores into me.
“You try something like that again and I’m going to kill you.”