Chapter Thirty-Two
Charlie drove to the Accurate Car Parts parking lot. His hands were shaking and he could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He didn’t want to be a hero, but he would risk everything to see Declan again.
Charlie slowly drove around to the rear of the cinder block structure.
The back wall was punctuated by two large roll-up doors.
He pulled up to the building, shut off the car, and glanced at his watch.
He’d gotten there in twenty-five minutes—five minutes earlier than the time limit in the message.
As he looked up, a person rounded the building.
It was Jules, or Julie, or whatever her real name was. She was smiling.
Charlie stepped out of the car and walked toward her. He was trying to figure out what to say to her after all she’d put him and Declan through, but before he could open his mouth, she pulled something out from behind her back and said, “Bang!”
Every muscle clenched in a full-body spasm. He toppled to the ground. He realised that she must have hit him with a Taser.
In seconds, Jules was on top of him. Before he could move, she’d secured Charlie’s hands with a pair of handcuffs, and covered his mouth with duct tape. The actual pain was short-lived, but he was dazed and winded from his fall to the ground.
Jules worked in silence, dragging him back to his car, manoeuvring him into the front passenger seat.
Charlie sensed he had regained some control over his body, but he forced himself to remain a dead weight.
He had to overcome his instincts to fight her off, reminding himself that he wanted to be caught.
Hopefully she would take him to Declan, and when he got there, he would push the panic button on his smart watch.
His hands were tied together behind his back and he knew he could reach his wrist when the time was right.
Jules stuck her hand into Charlie’s pants pockets and pulled out his car keys.
She positioned herself in the driver’s seat, then looked over at him.
“Nope. That won’t do,” she said, as she reached around him and put on his seat belt.
“Safety first. Don’t want a police officer pulling us over for a seat belt infraction. ”
Charlie found it hard to breathe. He groaned.
“What?” she said.
“Mm-mmm-mmm.”
She reached over and ripped the tape off his mouth.
“Fuck, that hurt!” Charlie yelled.
“Well, it’s a kidnapping—it’s supposed to hurt. Now what did you say?”
“I said I couldn’t breathe.”
“Well, if you’re a good boy, I’ll leave the tape off…for now.”
I have to be polite and get her talking, he thought. “Thank you.”
“Sure thing, sweet-cheeks. Now, let’s get rolling.
I’ve been so looking forward to driving this car.
” She stroked the wheel. “I don’t officially have my licence, but some of my former boyfriends taught me how to handle a stick shift.
” She looked over at him and winked. “When this is all over, I’m taking your car for a long drive before I sink it in a lake. I hope you don’t mind.”
She took off like a bullet, burning a few doughnuts in the parking lot before heading out onto the street. After a few rapid drifts around some corners, and the near miss of a motorcycle, Charlie built up the courage to ask, “Why are you doing this?”
“What? Driving fast?” she answered, looking over at him.
“Eyes on the road, please,” he answered. “No, I mean taking me and Declan. What have we done to you?”
“Oh. You haven’t really done anything to us, although my brother’s still a bit pissed at you. No, it’s really just a…business decision for my brother and I. And it’s mainly for our mother.”
“Your mother?”
“Yeah. You’ve met her.”
“I’ve met her?”
“Sure,” Jules said, “and she really liked you—at first. Then you kept interfering in her business and she realised that would never do.”
It was a question he had to ask, but he was afraid to hear the answer. “Who is your mother, Jules?”
“I don’t suppose it matters if I tell you now. Jasmine. Jasmine Robertson. At least that’s the name she went by when you met her.”
Jasmine Robertson? Simon Griffin’s housekeeper! That was the voice on the answering machine from the first number on Jules’ phone list!
“What does she have to do with all of this?” Charlie asked.
“Well, when you put Simon Griffin away, she stepped into his shoes.”
Charlie shook his head. “I’m not sure I understand.”
Jules rolled her eyes and sighed. “She took over as head of Monarch, dummy. You’ve been a thorn in the company’s side since you started with Declan.
First Declan took out some of Monarch’s people during the whole Ian Mann situation.
And then, last summer, you were a couple of bad boys and stuck your noses where they didn’t belong out at Hoodoo House and you cost the organisation a load of blackmail money and control over a judge. ”
The light in front of them turned red and Jules slammed her foot down hard on the brake to keep from running into a transport truck.
It didn’t seem to phase her one bit. She continued her story.
“And while it’s true that you did Mom a favour last winter when you found Milo, which led to Simon dropping out of the picture, it caused a whole lot of unwanted publicity for the organisation.
” She glowered at Charlie. “We don’t like publicity. ”
Charlie was trying to juggle all the information she was throwing his way. He decided to see how much more he could get out of Jules. “But why are you involved?”
“Because we’re her children, silly. Not everything I told you was a lie.
My mom did disappear when we were younger.
And when she came back into our lives, she was someone different.
She was good at playing her part, and she expects the same from us.
She wants us to be part of Monarch in a big way, and you and Declan—getting rid of you is sort of our initiation into the big leagues. ”
“And this is what you want to do?” Charlie asked.
“Sure. We’ve been promised a lot of money. It’s one of those ‘all in the family’ things.”
“So, this is just some sort of initiation rite?”
“Well, not for Tyler. For him, it’s a bit more personal.
He already had a thing for Declan. Mom knew he’d be easy to talk into the plan.
He told her that Declan had hurt his feelings by not paying him any attention.
And then when you came into the picture…
well, that made him angry and pushed him over the edge. ”
“And aside from money, what’s in it for you?” Charlie asked.
“Once this is all done, Mom’s going to take us away from this boring town and go somewhere nice.
I think we’ll be working for the organisation on a more international level…
far away from Cowtown.” She looked over at Charlie, wide-eyed.
“We’re going somewhere the Canadian government can’t touch us.
Some place warm. But first we have to prove that we have the right stuff.
So, once we take care of the two of you, then we’re in. ”
“This is so fucked up, Jules,” Charlie said. “You’re never going to get away with this.”
“Oh, I think you’re wrong there, Charlie-boy. Now…it’s time to take you where we’re holding Declan. Tyler has a special surprise planned for you.”
Charlie closed his eyes. He hoped that everything that had been said in the car had been recorded, that Sam and Gary were able to follow him, and that they would arrive in time to save Declan’s life.