CHAPTER 21
CARA
As soon as I got to the top of the stairs on the fifth floor, I could hear the ringing of a cell phone, and as I approached my room, I realised it was mine.
Cal had given it to me, and helped me to set it up that morning.
He’d shown me the basics of how it worked and where all of the numbers for the family were stored.
I knew Rafe really wanted me to have it, so I had accepted it, but I had argued that I hadn’t needed such an expensive device.
Back home I had only had a very basic model and it had done everything I needed it to.
The brand new iPhone Cal had selected for me seemed way too much.
I hadn’t even remembered to bring it from my room with me, and I was pretty clueless about how to use it too.
I hurried into my room at the sound of the ringing, hoping it would be Gia, or Rafe telling me he found her already. I knew the odds of him getting to her that fast were slim, but I could hope. I just wanted her to be home safe. No matter how much she disliked me, I loved her.
There wasn’t a name flashing on the screen like Cal told me there would be. Instead it was just a number, but I answered it anyway. Gia didn’t have her phone, so maybe she was calling from someone else’s?
“Hello?” I said eagerly.
“Cara?”
“Gia? Oh thank God! Where are you? Rafe is worried sick, and so am I.”
“Cara…” It wasn’t until she said my name again that I realised she was sniffling, and her breathing sounded uneven.
“Where are you? What’s wrong?” I demanded.
“I…I’m in trouble, Cara. These men…they gr-grabbed me. They said you have to come or they….they’re g-going to kill me. Please Cara. I don’t know what to do. I’m s-so sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“Gia, try to calm down. Take a breath for me. Do you know who took you, or where you are?”
“No. I…I c-can’t. They said I…I have to get you to come here. I don’t know what to do, Cara!” she whimpered between desperate sobs.
“Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?” I demanded.
I heard some scuffling, then the phone was muffled.
I heard a male voice, but not clear enough to make out any words.
Gia cried out, then she was sobbing even harder when she came back on the line.
It was obvious they had hurt her from the way her fear and panic had ratcheted up.
“Cara?” she squeaked.
“Tell the men I’ll come, okay? But only if they let you go. Tell them that,” I told her as calmly as I could. It was pointless to ask her more questions. They would only hurt her, and I couldn’t let that happen.
I didn’t understand what was going on, and why whoever took Gia wanted me instead, but if there was some way I could save Gia, I was damned well taking it.
Of course I didn’t want to walk into the clutches of monsters, but I was definitely better equipped to face that situation than my innocent, na?ve sister was.
And besides all of that, she was my baby sister. I’d do anything to protect her.
I could hear sniffles and crying, then the line was muffled for several minutes. I waited anxiously, adrenaline kicking in throughout my body. Then I heard Gia cry out as if she had been hurt. The shrill cry reverberated through me and made my heart race even faster.
“GIA?!” I yelled into the phone.
“I’m here,” she whimpered, sounding even more breathless. She was sobbing now.
“What happened? What did those fuckers do?!” I raged.
“They w-want you to come to an address, Cara. They said if y-you come alone then they’ll let me go, but you shouldn’t come Cara. I don’t want you t….NO!” The call ended there, the last word screamed, and filled with terror.
A moment later the phone in my hand beeped and when I lowered it from where I still clutched it to my ear I had a text message from the number that had called me. It was an address, with the words ‘1 HOUR OR SHE’S DEAD’ beneath.
Then it beeped again and a second message came through.
Unknown:
EXIT THROUGH BACK DOOR ON BASEMENT LEVEL. JASE WILL MEET YOU THERE
I didn’t know who Jase was, or why the message was written as it was – all in block capitals.
It seemed an odd detail, but I didn’t have time to contemplate it further.
There was no question in my mind that I had to get to that address and save Gia, but I knew I also needed to be smart about it.
I couldn’t tell anyone what was going on, because they’d never let me go if I did, but maybe I could tell them after I was gone, so they could follow and maybe get to me once Gia was safe.
If I had to die to save Gia, I would, willingly. But if there was a way to get out of this alive, I wanted to give it to myself. I had only just started this new life with Rafe and the people he surrounded himself with. I didn’t know how it would pan out, but I wanted the chance to see for myself.
I used my cell phone to open an internet browser just the way Cal had shown me earlier, then I typed in what I needed help with.
Thankfully, the internet gave me the answers I needed and I formed my plan as quickly as I could, setting everything up, then leaving my cell phone in the top drawer of my dresser, ensuring it was on silent.
I needed it to be switched on to enact my plan, but I couldn’t have any of the guys trying to track me with it, nor finding it and figuring out where I was headed if they realised I was gone, before I gave myself time to get there and get Gia out.
Once that was done I pulled on a pair of sneakers Dante had insisted I buy for training.
They weren’t ideal for the weather, but they were if I needed to fight.
I also pulled on one of the hooded sweaters I seemed to have stolen from Cal, over the t-shirt I wore.
It was warm, comfortable, and I had room to move in it if I needed to.
I also had another use for it being so baggy, which was the next step in my plan.
Sneaking around in that house was a piece of cake, since the place didn’t creak at all. I didn’t know if that was a rich person thing, or just that the house was old and that well-constructed, but the hardwood floors never made a peep as I crept over them and down the multiple flights of stairs.
Finally, I made it to Rafe’s office, and I slipped inside, pulling the door closed behind me.
I went to his laptop first and looked for the surveillance camera set up, sure Rafe would be the main account user.
I was far from an expert with technology, but luckily the program I needed was on his home screen, and when I opened it, it was very user friendly.
I found it easy to delete all of the surveillance footage for the last half hour, from the whole house, then I disabled the cameras, the whole time hoping that Dante was too busy to try and access them to spy on me for the next hour at least.
The last step in my plan was to find a weapon, and I was pretty sure, knowing my brother, and the monster who raised him, that Rafe would have a gun somewhere in his desk.
I guessed that it would be in a place that would be easily to hand should he ever need it, so I sat in his chair and started opening the desk drawers.
When I didn’t find anything there, I bent down to look underneath, and that was where I found it.
A small hand gun tucked inside a holster that was secured to the underside of the desk.
I pulled it out and worked out how to unload the clip.
Seeing it was full and the gun was loaded I made sure the safety was on, not wanting to risk shooting myself, then slipped it into the back of my leggings.
Cal’s sweater easily covered over it, and I had confidence whoever had Gia would underestimate me enough not to check me for weapons when I got there. I had to at least try.
I knew I had taken too long by the time I managed to get down to the basement level. I had been able to hear Cal and Terza talking in the kitchen as I bypassed it, and I had needed to sneak past it very slowly and carefully so they wouldn’t hear me, which had cost me precious minutes.
I didn’t even know where the exit door was on the basement level.
When I went down there to use the gym, I hadn’t seen anything like that, so once I hit the small hallway on that level I bypassed the gym completely and went to the room next door, which contained the swimming pool.
The lights flickered on as I walked inside, and I froze, terrified someone would notice the lights coming on at such an odd time, through the windows from outside.
I stood for a full thirty seconds, just waiting to get caught, but when nothing happened I started to run around the rectangular pool, in search of some kind of door.
In the very back corner I found one that was painted to blend into the colours of the room, which was why I hadn’t spotted it initially.
When I opened it, I found it branched off in two directions.
I went to the right first, but only found a changing room with showers and storage cubbies.
Panic was rising within me. I had no idea how long I had been exactly, but it felt like way too long. I only had an hour. What would happen if I didn’t get to Gia in time? Would they hurt her? Had they already hurt her?
I forced myself to take a breath. That was not the time to have a meltdown.
I needed to focus and stay clear headed.
Retracing my steps I went back to the door and headed to the left.
This led me into a storage room, filled with chemicals and cleaning supplies which were obviously for use in the pool, but beyond the racks that stored all of those items was a door.
I ran to it and started sliding open several large straight bolts which were securing it.
After they were all released, the door was a fire door, so I simply had to push down the large metal handle and the door opened with a loud creak.