Chapter 30
Galwad ff?n - Telephone call
Rhys
The screen goes blank.
‘No!’
I stare at my phone, mouth wide, heart throbbing in my ears. Aled. It can’t be him. Must be some mistake. Or I’m in the middle of a fucking nightmare.
Nothing happens when I redial Luce’s phone. Already switched off.
The rumble of the venue disappears as I sink onto the floor.
He’s my friend. I let him into the house, into our lives, without questioning him, questioning how he popped up and was suddenly everywhere.
Now Luce and Beth are at risk, all because I put my trust in some guy I met out on the piss, instead of hiring from one of Gethin’s fucking lists.
I take a deep breath, willing the grey corridor to come into focus. A crackle of activity in my ear stirs me.
‘Eighteen minutes until show time. Any sign of Cai?’ someone asks.
I check my watch. He’s due on stage the same time Aled’s gonna call me.
Nope. Not gonna happen. I was on the way to call off the concert.
There’s no fucking way the show can go on now.
Every minute he’s on that pissing stage, he’s exposed.
Aled could be waiting in the crowd, or backstage, ready to do something even more drastic than fucking kidnap.
Stealing the girls could be a distraction for something a lot worse.
The threat’s enough to get my legs moving, and I’m on autopilot – get up from the floor, head along corridor C, up two flights of stairs to the green room.
‘Seventeen minutes,’ someone else says in my ears. ‘Seriously, guys where is he?’
Luce is usually in charge of this shit.
Alina replies, ‘We’re on our way, sorry folks.’
I fumble my walkie, my scratch of interference disrupting the rest of the whining about Cai being late.
‘Rhys to all teams.’ My voice’s uneven, but I can blame it on the speed I’m marching and not the stress.
‘Stop all prep. Cai’s… sick. The show won’t be happening tonight. Bryn, get Gethin up here.’
They won’t believe me, not this close to curtain, but it’s the best I can come up with.
The complaining increases. All their work for fucking nothing.
They can carry on crying about it. I don’t give a fuck.
They’ll understand when they learn what’s happened, but there’s no way Cai’s finding out about this third fucking hand.
If the situation wasn’t this shit, I’d pull the earpiece out so I can concentrate on everything else.
But someone might spot an intruder, something else might happen.
I have to keep involved to glean nuggets in the chatter.
Alina’s waiting outside the green room, hands on her hips, frowning. ‘Cai’s not sick,’ she tells me. ‘He’s the loudest I’ve ever heard him. All complaints about not being downstairs in time.’
‘I know. I’m sorry.’ I run my hand over my face. The time catches my attention – sixteen minutes now. Fuck. I get her up to speed. Then she gets her next instructions – a full perimeter check. I’d do it myself, but I have to stay close to Cai.
I reach for the green room door, but the tremor in my hand makes me stop.
Facing Cai’s gonna be hard. I’m gonna have to tell him I couldn’t keep Beth and Luce safe.
That I let them go out for a day of shopping without being guarded.
That I hired someone dangerous, who has had control of the house since day one.
Fucking idiot, I am. Days of research, of memorising what could go wrong and writing plans to prevent it, and I chuck it all out the window. Especially cos Beth’s been fucking harassed in Cardiff before. Should have made them take Alina.
I take a deep breath. And another one. Even if I don’t want to tell him, I’m gonna have to. I need him to speak to Aled to keep the girls alive.
I push open the door, grimacing when Cai shoots straight to his feet. The bottom of his t-shirt’s creased, like he’s been wringing it through his hands.
‘What’s going on? Why are you cancelling the show? I’m not sick. I’m due on stage in fifteen minutes and should be wiring up, Rhys? What the hell?’
‘Cai, I—’ The words catch in my throat, but I shove them away, using the pause to rearrange my thoughts. Tell him the facts. Don’t elaborate on anything. No point stressing him out more than we have to. ‘Luce and Beth have been kidnapped.’
There’s no ‘ha ha, Rhys, great joke,’ no ribbing me to tell him the truth. Must be something on my face that tells him I’m not lying. He flops to the sofa, so boneless it’s like he’s fainted.
He pulls in a hard gasp of air, groaning like he can’t get enough oxygen. Panic attack. Shit. I slide next to him and rub his back, talk him through the techniques to get him out of this.
Not that I get far with it. Mid-grounding, Gethin barges into the room, door slamming against the wall.
Cai’s breathing gets shallower. Fuck. Bryn follows Gethin in, grimacing like he’s tried his best to dampen our boss’ rage, tried to calm him.
Gethin storms towards me, face bright red, moustache quivering.
Scares Cai’s panic attack right out of him.
‘What gave you the goddamn right to cancel the show? Do you know how much that’s going to cost us?’
I’m on my feet before I can register moving.
‘I don’t fucking care! We’re insured, aren’t we?
’ My fists curl into angry balls, but I will not lamp him.
It’ll make shit ten times worse. ‘You pay me to advise on security and keep Cai safe. So take this advice. He cannot go on stage. Aled’s taken the girls.
He’s the one who answered Luce’s phone. And I can’t watch the damn stage at the same time I have to work out what to do when he rings again. ’
His face hardens even more, the truth not enough to quieten his anger. ‘Why didn’t you call for me straight away?’
I have enough to do without worrying about answering all his damn questions.
‘What are we going to do?’ Cai asks, his breathing normal, but his voice quiet. It’s enough to cut between me and Gethin, which is good cos somehow, we’re toe-to-toe, and my face feels as hot as his looks.
Gethin scratches his moustache and asks, ‘When you say Aled, do you mean—’
‘Our IT guy? Yeah. He’s in love with Cai.’
‘Wh-what?’ Cai sputters. ‘Since when? Me and him barely talk.’
‘Since forever, apparently.’ I take a couple of steps away from Gethin and sink onto the sofa.
‘I—I don’t get it. My searches didn’t show anything for him.
Must have used fake paperwork, or this might be the first time he’s done it.
Doubt Aled’s his real name. He asked to speak to all of us, said Luce and Beth will be safe as long as we listen to his demands, but h-he called Luce a spare. ’
Like she doesn’t make an impact every single fucking day. Like we could function without her. She’s a vital part of it all – our team, our operation. My damn fucking world. Can’t imagine my life without her. I’ll do anything to keep her safe. Beth too. Even if it means swapping places with them.
‘So call him.’ Didn’t peg Cai for being the boss of this shit, but he’s the one sounding confident and assertive. Like he’s already squared away what might need to happen. Their freedom for his. Simple. It’s like the panic attack cleared some air.
I pull the phone out of my pocket. Two minutes to go.
‘Did he give you any terms?’ Gethin asks. Of course he rationalises this into contracts and business talk when someone’s life’s at stake. It’s the only way he communicates.
‘No.’ My mouth’s dry. On the off-chance, I call Aled’s phone. Dead too. ‘Only said he’ll talk to us all in twenty minutes.’
‘Or?’
I can’t bring myself to say it. The room turns deadly silent, the walls pressing in on us, stealing all the fucking air.
Every inch of my skin itches, like my body’s telling me to get the fuck up and do something.
Get out on the streets, knock all the doors in the fucking city until I find them.
Yet all I do is sit here, like a clown, waiting for the clock to tick over to nine.
The phone rings.
Luce’s face fills my screen, beaming like there’s nothing fucking wrong in the world. My breath catches in my throat and I look away. If I stare at her for too long, I’ll break.
Dunno who answers, but Aled doesn’t wait for any of us to speak.
‘Oh, you’re good, aren’t you, Rhys? Picking up on the third ring. Used to let it ring for hours when I called you before, but now Luce’s with me, you’re paying more attention. Funny that. Are you with the others?’
‘Yeah, I’m here, Aled,’ Cai says, ‘Gethin and Rhys, too.’ It’s like he knows hearing him will keep Aled happy.
‘Perfect. Now, if we—’
A howl of pain interrupts him. I can’t even tell if it’s Lucy’s or Bethan’s. Not sure if I wanna know. He shouldn’t be touching them. Either Gethin or Cai jumps to their feet. Cai’s the one swearing, but I squeeze my eyes tighter. That noise’ll haunt my dreams for the rest of my fucking life.
‘Sorry about that,’ Aled continues. ‘Never met a pair of birds as mouthy as these two.’
His accent’s thicker than normal, but it’s steady, like we’re jibbing each other about the game over a pint or three. Like it’s a normal fucking day and he hasn’t just kidnapped my sister and girlfriend.
‘What’s your plan, mate?’ It takes a lot of effort to peel my tongue off the roof of my mouth, but I have to speak up before Cai or Gethin does. It’s still my job. I need to have control of this shitstorm of a situation.
‘It’s simple. I wanna trade. Easy.’
‘When?’
‘Not quite sure yet.’ Aled answers me like I’ve asked where he’s going on his next fucking holiday. ‘Need to sort some shit out first.’
‘Okay,’ Cai says through a shaky breath. ‘That’s fine. I’ll come.’
Aled laughs like he’s heard the funniest joke in the world. ‘You think I’m after you? The big popstar with an ego the size of fucking West Wales? The guy who messes everyone around all the damn time. Tell me, Cai, is it Beth you’re really interested in, or are you using her to get back at Topaz?’
Cai, to his credit, doesn’t flinch. ‘You better leave her the fuck alone.’
‘If not Cai, who?’ Gethin asks. He holds a hand out to stop Cai from arguing anymore.
If Aled doesn’t want Cai—
‘Rhys.’
‘Me?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I love you.’