Chapter Eighteen
I might not know the face but I sure as hell knew the sound of that voice.
It was the same voice that held a gun to my head while handing over the duffle bag.
I’d never forget that voice. How the hell did he find me?
I made sure I was cautious leaving Chicago the same way I left the first time.
After I had gotten my ticket, I knew I needed to swap my boarding pass.
It was easy when I spotted a young college kid and convinced him now was the time to explore the world and traded tickets with him.
Then, to be extra cautious, I swapped my ticket with a random person who was ordering coffee at one of the gates.
The man, who I recalled being called Birdy, stood with his arms across his chest and a smirk that I wanted to slap off his face.
He was about my height but had a wide bulky frame.
My first thought when I heard his voice was to tell Bethany to run but I should have known there would be others here to hone us in.
The scream of Bethany behind me as someone grabbed her pulled at my heart.
“Let go of me!” Bethany screeched.
“What is going on here?!” The priest asked concerned and fearful.
Bang. Bang. I heard the gunshots and two bodies dropped behind me. Bethany screamed as she witnessed the priest and our witness get shot. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, and the cold air was starting to sink into my skin.
Birdy began walking toward me as the man holding Bethany came into view. He was very young, with a baby face and blond golden curly hair.
“You could have just called,” I said to Birdy.
“You seemed to have left the phone at the airport along with the duffle bag. Didn’t leave behind the money though,” he scoffed.
That was another swap I did. After buying a new piece of luggage, I tossed the duffle bag and stuffed the new luggage with the cash.
“You were stupid to go back to Chicago. Did you really think we wouldn’t keep an eye out for you to return?”
“If you have been following us the last 2 weeks, then why wait to show your face now?” I asked.
“Watching the sheer panic on you is more fun,” Birdy said with a chuckle. “You should have seen yourself at the spa.”
So I wasn’t being paranoid, he was there watching. It sent a shiver up my spine. How did I let my guard down so easily?
“If you’re here for me, I’ll come willingly. Let the girl go.” I shot back as though I was engaging in conversation when all I wanted to do was rip his head off.
“Emilio!” Bethany managed to wiggle free, but the young man grabbed her once again.
“It’s okay,” I assured her.
Birdy nodded to the young man to take Bethany away. She was resistant at first, but when I shot her a look to comply, she knew I couldn’t get us out of this one. I watched as the young man took her to a nearby van, placed her inside, and drove off.
“We will keep her until we know you will fully cooperate. No funny business this time.”
“Who is we?” I asked.
A sinister smile crossed his face. “You’ve been hunting us down for a while now.”
The wheels in my brain were turning. The man at the spa, who left burned marks on Aria, he wasn’t working alone. He had a team. The blood began pumping through my veins, I could feel it flowing against my skin.
“What do you want?”
Birdy pulled out a cigarette and offered me one from the pack. “Do as we say and she lives.”
“I don’t smoke,” I replied. Since Bethany was with me, I hadn’t smoked a single day since she came to Iceland.
“You can take the man out of the game, but you can’t take the game out of the man.” Birdy lit up the cigarette in his mouth and let out a puff. “It’s only a matter of time before you dive back in. Might as well pick the stronger team.”
“Stronger team?” I cleared my throat to hide from laughing in his face. “If you think lurking in the shadow makes you a strong team, you’re all cowards – won’t even show your faces.”
Birdy pointed to the side of his face that was slightly burnt, “Do I look like a coward to you?”
I knew straight away he had no fears. There was a scar across his face and part of it looked burned. A million thoughts ran through my mind. Who, what, where, and why.
He went on, “Someone like me would get noticed easily amongst a crowd of people, but the one you should be afraid of most – the mastermind - has been lurking around you for years. Close enough to slit your throat.”
My blood started to boil. If this was true then that means there was a rat. We don’t take lightly to those. For it to happen under my watch meant it was someone I trusted.
“What do you want from me?”
“Come work for us.”
“I don’t know who us is.”
“MC. He wants you on the team.”
“MC?” I questioned hoping to get more information.
“Yeah. MC.”
“Why?”
“You’re good at what you do. Or do you not care for the girl? Banging your boss’s sister is ballsy of you. Maybe we should go for Cassie.”
The mention of my sister almost blinded me with rage. If I had a gun I’d shoot him in the face right now. “If you think I believe for a second that you know where my sister is, you are as dumb as you look.”
See, Father Joel didn’t even know where Cassie was hiding.
Even if she was followed out of the Church, Cassie was good at losing someone on her tail.
I made sure her place had a private escape.
Our spot, a place neither one of us spoke about to anyone else, was truly a safe place. I was calling his bluff.
“I can call goldilocks and tell him to slit Bethany’s throat.”
There was nothing more I disliked than not having the upper hand.
“Why does this MC want me?’
“Wasn’t an idea I was fond of. But you have the muscle and the knowledge needed for our plan to succeed.”
“What exactly is the plan?” I questioned although I was certain it ended with death.
“MC will discuss that with you.” Birdy held out the pack of cigarettes.
My hesitation was to make him wonder how serious I felt about Bethany. If I stalled then it showed no commitment; however, if I jumped on the opportunity to save her they would use her against me for anything.
I reached for the pack and pulled out a cigarette.