Chapter Ten
Alana
Three days left. There may as well have been a clock in her head, a time bomb, ticking down, waiting for the explosion. She tapped her pen on the desk, the rhythmic sound protruding into her brain, invading her thoughts. She needed to block it out. Shit, no, she needed to listen.
She turned her attention back to the man sitting in front of her.
Heath. A hedge fund guy, who had a ton of high-profile clients.
Enough to make him a billionaire. She should’ve paid attention in math class.
Rick had recommended him for membership.
She shouldn’t have favorites, but Rick was one of them, and he’d been vetted, so this was his final interview stage, and she wasn’t even listening to him.
She would make millions from his membership if he stayed for the long run, and yet she couldn’t even give him the time of day.
Focus, Alana, she scolded herself.
“So, yeah,” he said, crossing one leg over the other.
“That’s what I do, as I’m sure you already know and it’s clear I’m boring you.
” He said the last part with a smile. It crinkled his eyes.
He looked to be in his early forties, with a bit of grey sprinkled in his hair, but he was good-looking, and he clearly took care of himself.
She smiled politely. “Boring? Of course not, Heath. Now, Rick put you forward as a recommendation for membership, and now the checks have been completed and I’ve met you in person, I’m more than happy to offer you a place here.
” She brought out his gold card with his name on it from her drawer.
She always liked to have it prepared. It added a more personal touch to the meeting.
They felt special, like they were a part of something special. And they were.
She’d found something special here...
Him. Drew.
She had to fight to keep it.
Heath’s words came flooding through her longings. “So, there’s a bar here? Fancy a drink?”
Silence.
“Alana?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I’m not usually like this, you’ll have to forgive me. Personal stuff,” she said, waving a hand.
“Well, from what I can see and from what I’ve been told, you have many powerful people in your pocket, some even in the palm of your hands, I’m sure. Use them, if you can. Your members speak very highly of you.”
She looked at him then. Like she was looking at him for the first time. He had kind eyes and wise words. He was right—she had a whole network of people at her disposal, and not just people, powerful people with resources, and she should use them.
“Consider your first month of membership on the house, Heath.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“Because you’ve spoken words I needed to hear. Sometimes you just can’t see clearly until someone spells it out for you. That just so happened to be you today.” She offered him a smile, a genuine one, no hint of professional Alana hoping to secure another client.
“Well, I’m glad I can help.” He stood, flipping his card over in his hands. “And you know, you can count me on that list of people now. I’m a good reader of people, and I like what I see.”
His words could be misconstrued as flirting, but she saw them for what they were. Respect. She shook his outstretched hand and watched him leave.
As soon as the door closed, she logged into her computer, into her email, and drafted a message. A message to those powerful people, her friends.
I need your help, your resources. You’re all my friends and anything you can do for me will be greatly appreciated. I’ll owe you a favor and you can call on me when you need it. Anytime. There’s a gang in New York and they’ve come to collect a debt. A debt that cannot be paid. You can use your...
She ceased her frenzied typing when her office door opened once more. She expected to see Heath there, maybe he’d forgotten something, but there was a man she didn’t recognize, with curly hair and wild eyes.
“Hello, Alana. I see you’re typing a message. But I’m afraid that one can’t be sent. And I’m here to deliver one on behalf of Max.”
She clicked the send button before she even knew what she was doing. It hadn’t been sent to half the people she’d wanted. But it had gone to a few trusted members of the club like Josh, Rick, and Lily, and a few more people on her payroll who could help.
She didn’t know if it would be enough. It had to be.
A sound like a growl escaped the man’s lips. “Well now, aren’t you quick off the mark, little lady? You’ve got bigger balls than some of our members. Max might have some use for you after he’s done with you.”
His words sent a stab of dread through her body, but she wouldn’t show it.
Wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She held her head high, all the while fumbling her shaking hand for the button underneath her desk.
One that she typically used to communicate with the bar staff. If she could just get them to hear her—
“Stop that or I’ll kill him.”
Drew. She knew he would. She ceased fumbling and held her arms down by her sides. “I’ll go willingly. Don’t make a scene.”
He tilted his head. “All right, boss lady. I’ll see what I can do.”
In a flash he was beside her, scrunching his hand in her hair. She didn’t even have the chance to scream before she saw stars, and then the world went dark.
****
Her head was pounding. Thump, thump, thump.
She opened her bleary eyes slowly. There was something coating it, coating her vision.
She blinked against the sticky substance, and the room fell into a blurry view.
Her mouth was dry, and she opened it, as if to finish her scream from earlier as it all came tumbling back to her like a broken jigsaw puzzle.
She had been in her office; she’d been knocked out and taken by one of Max’s people.
“There she is. Welcome back to the land of the living, sleeping beauty. Play your cards right, and you might just stay in that fairy-tale realm.” Max smiled.
She willed her heart to calm, to steady.
Where was she? She cast her eyes around.
Night had fallen. They were in a rundown-looking bar she didn’t recognize.
There were a few men sitting around the tables, drinking.
She was in the center of the room, at an empty table, her hands tied behind her back.
Damn it, she couldn’t be more on show if she tried.
There was no getting out of this. Maybe if they all left the room, she could try to run. They hadn’t restrained her legs ... but then why would they need to? They were a group of killers with weapons, and she was one woman. One weak, helpless woman.
She breathed through her nose slowly, employing the breathing techniques she’d used since she was a child, when she would hear the footsteps at night, when her foster dad would come into her room stinking of booze and she would hide. She would hide, but there was nowhere to hide now.
Max smiled, taking the seat next to her like they were two old friends sharing a late-night drink.
He seemed able to sense her thoughts, her fears, he was adept at this, no matter how hard she tried to calm herself down.
She watched as he dipped a rag into a jug of water and then stood over her, wiping at the dry, crusted blood on her forehead.
She let him. She didn’t flinch. She needed to be able to see, she needed as much of an advantage as possible.
He chucked the rag on the table. “Good girl,” he murmured, and bile rose in her throat.
“I like a girl who doesn’t fight back. You’re smart.
Curly shouldn’t have been so heavy handed.
I did try and tell him.” He shook his head at the man like he was disappointed in one of his children.
Curly hung his head. “And this will all be over soon. Your prince charming will be here to rescue you, and you will have served your purpose.”
She wasn’t thinking about herself. No. She was thinking about him.
About how his childhood, his whole life, was ruined by the man in front of her, and if only she could, she would stab him and not think twice about it.
She would be doing so many people a favor, saving so many by ridding him from the earth.
“So, do you know where he is, so we can deliver our message?” Max said, propping his legs up on the table.
“No, I haven’t seen him in a few days.”
He clicked his tongue. “Such pretty lies.” He snapped his fingers and Curly took a photo of her.
“Looks like we will have to do this the modern way. So impersonal though, don’t you think?
” He sighed. “Oh well, he’ll be here soon enough.
But while we wait, let’s have a little chat, shall we?
” He took a sip of his beer. “You know I’m going to have to punish all of those people you sent your little message to, right? ”
Her heart hammered. She shouldn’t have sent it. What was she thinking? It was selfish. So selfish.
“Lily, lovely Lily.” He tasted her name. “Don’t worry about her, she’s been a loyal dog. No need to punish her.”
“What are you talking about?” The words tumbled from her mouth before she could stop them. She was giving him what he wanted, his pre-show before the real entertainment showed up, but she didn’t care. She needed to know if Lily was okay.
“Everyone can be bought. Not with money, no, no, but everyone has something they care about, something they can’t live without.
And it turns out Lily has some adorable grandchildren.
So,” he clicked his tongue, “I’ve been having her work for me, keeping tabs on you, hacking into your computer, your phone, your tablets, all that.
How did you think we knew about the message before you sent it?
We’ve been spying on you in real time, darling. ”
“I don’t believe you.” Her voice was small. So small.
He smiled, true glee passing his features. He dialed Lily’s number. “Hello flower, I need you to do something for me. Tell me the last thing I asked you to do regarding my little problem.”
Lily’s voice came over from the other side. It was tight and quiet, like she was speaking through gritted teeth. “Tap Alana’s email.”
His smile was so wide that she could see one of his gold teeth.
“Thank you, petal, good work.”
He disconnected the call. “See? Everyone can be bought. Everyone wants to survive. And Drew is a survivor. Oh yes, he’s a survivor, is our Drewy. And he will survive this. You will not. Because it doesn’t matter how much time has passed, he is one of us and he is mine.”
He couldn’t be more wrong. It made her smile. “You’re wrong. He loves me and I love him. There’s nothing you can do to change that.”
His lip curled. “I don’t think he knows what love is, darling. I stamped it out of him long ago.”
She opened her mouth to retort when a bang came from the direction of the kitchen. Max sighed, slapping his hands on his knees as he went to check it out. He whistled to his cronies, and they followed him like the dogs they were.
She didn’t know whether to be offended that he had left no one to guard her. She struggled against her restraints, the rope burning into her skin. It was useless. A frustrated sob escaped her lips.
The only one you are allowed, she told herself. You will not give him the satisfaction.
Her eyes caught on a glint coming out of the shadows.
A young guy, about twenty, appeared. He had a matching scar to Drew’s, but his looked newer, like the skin wasn’t fully thickened yet.
He walked over to her quickly, coming up behind her.
She felt cool steel press into her hands just in time to hide it and tuck it up into her sleeve, when Max and the others entered the room.
They were too embroiled in their own conversation to notice what had passed between her and the guy.
She looked at the man, thanking him with her eyes. His own looked dead, like there was no spark left. He gave her a small nod and disappeared back into the shadows.
Now all she had to do was wait.