Chapter 29 #2
"This is crazy." April's voice broke. "He's making all of this up. Please, please just let me go. I promise I won't turn you in. I won't tell anyone, I swear it. Please just let me go."
"No, April." The man's voice went cold. "I'm afraid this was your last chance, and now we're going to have to get a little—"
The door burst open behind her.
“Dimitri!” a man said, followed by rapid-fire Russian—angry or upset, April couldn't tell which. The man in front of her—Dimitri, she assumed—fired something back in Russian, sharp and commanding.
He looked at April. "I'll be back in a moment, dear."
The overhead light went off. She heard the door close. Then she was alone.
April immediately started working at the zip ties, twisting her wrists, trying to find any give in the plastic.
Nothing. She tried to throw her weight forward, then back, hoping to loosen the ropes around her torso.
But whoever had tied her up knew what they were doing.
The recliner was heavy and didn't budge.
Her legs were bound too tightly to attempt any of the zip tie tricks she'd seen on YouTube.
She was trapped.
She realized she was still wearing her engagement ring. She ran her thumb over it again and again, feeling the contours, the smoothness of the blue-sky stone.
An eerie calm settled over her. Shane would find her. He had to. They had a whole life in front of them.
Minutes passed. Then an hour. Then forever.
April watched through the muddy window as the gray afternoon light slowly faded. The rain never stopped, steady and relentless. Finally the daylight was gone completely. A light came on outside—streetlight or yard light, she couldn't tell—casting shadows of dancing leaves across the plastic cover.
Night had fallen, and no one had come back.
April's arms had gone completely numb. Her twisted ankle throbbed. Her mouth was dry again, her throat aching. But worse than the physical discomfort was the fear. The not knowing.
Where was Shane? Was Kevin okay? Did he know she was missing yet? Had they told him? God, her poor baby. He'd be terrified.
Oh, God. And he’ll blame himself for this.
She watched the rain fall, the shadows dancing in the light from outside, and her mind drifted to another rainy night.
Running from the downpour into Shane's house for the first time.
Kevin laughing, Pete shaking water everywhere.
The cozy warmth of Shane's living room, the way Shane had looked at her like she was something precious.
The contrast nearly broke her.
If she died here—
No. Stop it. Don't think like that.
But the thought persisted. If she died here, Kevin would be okay.
He'd have Sonny and Miriam and Hannah. He'd have Shane, who would petition to adopt him in a heartbeat, and no one would fight that.
He'd have all of Watchdog, all those fierce, protective men who'd shown up to the courthouse just to support her.
Kevin would grieve, of course. He'd mourn his mother.
She knew no one could ever completely replace her, but he'd have her friends, the most amazing women in the world, stepping in to be the next best thing.
He would be okay. Ultimately, he would survive this if she died.
The realization was both devastating and oddly comforting as she listened to the soft, steady rain and stroked her engagement ring.
Except I have no intention of dying. And every intention of fighting.
Vince had gotten himself in way over his head with the Russian mob. And for whatever reason, he'd lied to these people about her. Told them she had access to some crypto fortune. Why would he do that? What did he possibly have to gain?
Unless he really believed it. Unless he'd convinced himself over the years that she'd stolen from him somehow.
Footsteps again.
April's head snapped up. The door opened. The overhead light came on, harsh and bright, making her squint. Dimitri walked back into her view, and this time he had the gag in one hand and another bandana in the other.
"What are you going to do to me?" April asked, hating the tremor in her voice.
"Oh, we're going for a ride." Dimitri's smile was back, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It looks like this is your lucky night, April Taylor. You will return to your son and your fiancé. But only if you cooperate."
April's heart leaped. Return to Kevin? To Shane? But she didn't trust this man for a second. For all she knew, he was going to blindfold her, drag her outside, and shoot her.
"I can use the needle on you again," Dimitri said, watching her face. "But I would prefer not to. Or you can walk. Which will it be?"
April swallowed hard. "I'll walk."
"Good choice."
“But I really, really have to pee.”
Dimitri sighed. He moved behind her, and she felt him tying the bandana over her eyes. Not a gag this time—she was too nauseated for that, and maybe he knew it. The world went dark.
She heard the door open again. Another man entered—she could tell by the second set of footsteps. Two against one now. No hope of fighting.
She felt the ropes go slack around her legs, then her torso, as one of them untied them. "Up," Dimitri said. April's muscles screamed as she stood, her twisted ankle protesting.
Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.
Something cold and hard pressed against her back.
A gun. “The bathroom is to your right. I will untie your hands so you may use them. This door will stay open, the blindfold will stay on. You will hurry. When you are done, I will tie your hands again. No funny business.” Dimitri prodded her with the gun to emphasize his point.
April nodded and a moment later her hands were free.
Completely numb, they were practically useless.
She stumbled forward and found the toilet about three steps in.
At least she was wearing a skirt and could preserve some of her modesty.
She finished, flushed, and stumbled back out.
Her hands tingled painfully as the circulation came back, just in time to be tied up again.
They started walking. The two men spoke in Russian, their voices low and fast. April caught Vince's name once, then again. What were they saying about him?
They crossed the basement, April stumbling occasionally, her ankle throbbing, then up a set of stairs and through what felt like a couple of rooms. A door opened, and she felt the temperature drop. Two steps down. Everything sounded echoey now and she felt a cold breeze to her left.
Garage, she realized. They were in a garage.
And the door was open.
An engine started. A heavy door opened—a van door, by the sound of it.
Run.
She was halfway through thinking the word and her body was already in motion. She ran blindly toward the fresh, cool air, screaming. If they were in any sort of neighborhood, maybe someone would hear her before—
Strong hands grabbed her from behind and lifted her off her feet.
“Bad girl.” Dimitri carried her kicking and screaming into the garage and threw her into the back of a cargo van.
April hit the floor hard, her shoulder taking the impact.
She heard the van doors slam, then a moment later, heard the men open other doors and get in.
The van backed out of the garage before she even heard their door close.
There had to be at least three people—the driver, Dimitri, and the other guy who'd been with her in the basement. Maybe another guy sitting in the passenger seat, which would bring the total to four. Was Vince driving or was he riding shotgun?
"April."
April's heart stopped. The voice was right next to her.
"Vince?"
"Hey, baby." His voice was strained, terrified in a way she'd never heard before. "Looks like we're both screwed."
"What are you doing back here?" April twisted toward his voice. "What are you—"
"They're gonna kill both of us," Vince said, and he sounded like he was crying. "April, God, I didn't think—I didn't know they'd—"
The van lurched forward. Whoever was driving was going fast.
April's mind raced. Vince was in the back of the van with her. Which meant he wasn't in control. Which meant he'd gotten in way over his head with people who were now going to—
Going to what? Drive them somewhere remote and kill them both? Or was this the exchange? Were they taking her to Shane?
She had no idea. And tied up in the back of a van, blindfolded, with Vince sobbing beside her, April had never felt more helpless in her life.
The van sped on through the night, rain hammering the roof. April could hear the rhythmic thump of windshield wipers, the muffled voices of the men up front speaking Russian. It felt like they were gaining altitude—her ears always plugged when she went up into the mountains.
She couldn’t take Vince’s blubbering any longer.
"Can you at least take the blindfold off of me?" April asked.
"No way, baby. I'm not pissing them off any more than they already are." He sniffled. "Besides, my hands are tied and I've got a blindfold on, too."
"My God, Vince, who are these guys? What the hell did you do? Why did you tell them I had some sort of crypto code?"
She waited. And when she didn’t think he’d ever answer, he said, "I guess it doesn't matter if I tell you now.
Here's what happened." He took a shaky breath.
"The money my crew and I made from counterfeiting the chips—I got this idea that we could put it all into crypto.
Bought a bunch just a few days before I was arrested. "
"Oh God, Vince, you didn't."
"Yeah. I put the seed code on a chip and I thought, just in case the police decide to raid our place, I'd hide it in something that belonged to you. Teeny tiny memory chip, not even as big as my fingernail. Easy to hide.”
April's blood ran cold. "What are you saying?"
"You were clean. You had nothing to do with the operation. I told the cops that, you know. I kept you safe."
April snorted.