Chapter 11
“Is that really necessary? We’re in a hurry to get back. Our supervisor only gave us an hour for lunch. Any later and we’ll get written up plus have to make up the time.” Samson’s voice held a hint of exasperation, but that tightness was still there.
Esmie fought not to cough. The claustrophobic nature of being under the blanket and now with the guards about to find her with the scanner made her want to claw her way out and run.
Shouldn’t Samson and Leo have known the guards would use a scanner?
What were they going to do now? What excuse would they have for hiding a woman in the backseat under a blanket, with purple around her eye?
A migraine bloomed above her right eyebrow.
Her stomach roiled with bile trying to force its way up.
“Yeah, sorry it’s protocol on our end. I’m sure you guys have no hidden technology, drugs, or people hiding in the trunk somewhere, so we’ll make it as quick as possible. I know how unfair supervisors can be.” The gravelly voice grunted his displeasure at speaking of supervisors.
“Completely agree, which is what I’m concerned about,” Samson responded.
Boots crunched across the ground outside Esmie’s door, then paused. Could the guards hear her heart pounding? Did she make a sound? Did she move? She could imagine Samson and Leo sweating in the front seat. “Where’s the scanner?” another voice said, sounding irritated.
“It’s not in the compartment?” The gravelly voice sighed.
“Nope. Did you move it?”
“No, the engineers must have come and got it. I was complaining to them about how it was giving false positives. It took a few months to finally get their attention, I guess. You know, for people so smart you’d think they would have left another one for us to use in the meantime.
” The gravelly voice moved further away, then grew louder as it approached the car.
“I need to call their supervisor to let them know we need another one.”
“How long is that going to take? Like I said, we only have a few minutes before we’re docked.” Samson didn’t hide the urgency in his voice this time.
“Oh, yeah. Go ahead. This is on them not us. Move along so those uptight supervisors of yours don’t have a fit,” The gravelly voice said. As they pulled away Esmie could hear the man cursing and speaking in sharp tones to someone most likely on the phone.
“That was close.” Leo breathed. Esmie attempted to untangle herself from under the blanket.
“Don’t move. Wait until we’re further away from the guards,” Samson ordered.
Esmie huffed. For such a handsome guy, Samson sure was bossy.
Maybe at another time she would have liked being bossed around by him, but right now she was anxious to get out from under the hot blanket.
Thoughts of Samson drawing close to her and ordering her to kiss him flashed through her mind.
She bit her lip, willing the images to go away.
This would be a challenge if she didn’t get her hormones under control.
Flashes of fluorescent light pricked through the blanket.
The car lurched and swerved. Esmie didn’t know how much longer she would be able to stay still in her spot.
Her head throbbed and her skin itched while the car descended.
Then her muscles began to cramp and all she wanted to do was stretch, cough, scratch her whole body and feel fresh air again.
She broke out into a cold sweat. When Esmie thought she was going to scream from frustration, the car stopped, and the engine shut off.
“Okay, you can get out now.” Leo helped pull the blanket off of her. Esmie scratched her arms and face.
“Finally. I thought I was going to suffocate in there. Where have you had that thing? It smells like moss and old leather.” Esmie hissed.
Samson placed a firm finger to his lips. She wondered how soft his lips were, then rolled hers in to banish the thought from her face, fighting to keep her head straight to avoid it pounding more. Leo was already out of the car, his head swiveling in all directions. He motioned for her to get up.
“We have to get you inside without drawing attention.” Leo’s eyes narrowed at a glass door several rows in front of them.
Esmie crept out of the car, the coolness of the underground parking garage felt wonderful compared to the cramped space under the blanket.
The part of the garage they parked in was covered in semi darkness with the overhead fluorescent lights out, which explained why all of the other cars were parked several feet away leaving them alone.
Esmie peered up at the ceiling and noticed the cameras dotting the beams running along the top, yet coincidentally their position was out of view of any cameras.
“Turn around, I need to put these on.” Clanking metal from a set of handcuffs Samson held made her step back a few paces.
“Are you serious?” Esmie’s eyes widened.
“I know it’s not ideal, but we can’t get you inside without checking you in. The best way to do this is to say I have to take blood samples, off the record, and interrogate you before you go. They won’t check you in and there is no paper trail of you even being here,” Leo insisted.
Esmie looked him up and down. “Is that even legal? You can’t do things off record. In the textbook in civics class, it went over the Andloor Regulation Orders.”
“You’ve always been perceptive, but right now I need you to put the book smarts away, along with your morals.
I warned you there were things you didn’t know, and I promise to answer all your questions when we’re safe.
” Leo’s face snapped around to see if anyone was coming, then snapped back to her.
He held up his hands as if dealing with a toddler.
Esmie crossed her arms over her chest in response.
Samson stepped in. His eyes bore into hers with such intensity, Esmie could melt into the floor in a happy puddle.
She lowered her arms. “I know we just met today, but we’re looking out for your wellbeing, and you can’t go out in the public with that purple on your eye.
” Esmie’s mouth dropped open in accusation at Leo.
Samson put a hand up. “He had to tell me, so I understood the dangerous nature of the situation. We are trying to save your life right now, while also trying not to lose our jobs. Maybe you don’t trust me, yet, but at least trust your brother. He cares about you a lot.”
The seriousness in his tone scared Esmie.
She snapped her mouth shut. Rumors about what really happened downtown always floated around campus.
Most people, including herself, thought these rumors were just conspiracies.
The police corruption, politicians buying people off, residents and workers disappearing.
It was stuff you saw in old movies and socials, at least when they were allowed to use those, but none of the rumors could be true.
Could they? Her brother would never bend the law unless it was necessary for their protection. She trusted him implicitly.
“I swear if you bring this up to anyone, I will break your leg.” Esmie held out her arms to Samson, while staring at Leo.
“And you too,” she said to Samson, although at the sight of his biceps flexing as he put on the handcuffs, she didn’t know how that would be possible.
The adorable smirk on his face let her know he thought the same thing.
“Listen, we’re going to be a bit rough. Don’t be scared, just go with it.
We have to make it believable. You can make sounds like grunts and what not, but don’t speak.
Understand?” Leo said. Esmie nodded. He adjusted the hoodie lower over her face, shoving her curly ponytail under the hood, and pushed the sunglasses up the bridge of her nose.
“The less people see, hear, and know about you, the better.”
“You ready for this?” Samson asked. Both Leo and Esmie nodded. She wasn’t sure who Samson was addressing, but everyone was under pressure to do this the right way, otherwise the consequences would be worse than her mother finding out she went to a club.