dies. Do you understand? I will phone you on this line.”
“I got it.”
“Good.”
The phone line went dead. My eyes flicked over to the FBI agent who was in the process of tracing. He shook his head. Nothing.
“So I will gather up the money and have it ready for you.”
“We’ll have you travel in a car. Two FBI agents will be inside with you. Both of them will be armed. We’ll also have two snipers on location. You won’t see them. Neither will the kidnappers. The moment they go for the money, we’ll nab them.”
“Have you done this before?”
“Of course. Many times.”
“Did you recover the victim?”
“Most of the time. Sometimes they had already been murdered. But we stand a good chance of getting her back. There is a lot of money at stake here. I wouldn’t worry too much. They need her to be alive.”
I got a sense those weren’t exactly good odds. But we had little choice.
Mia pulled me aside. “This will all be over tonight. She will be back unharmed and with you. I promise.”
“You say that with such certainty. You don’t know.”
When I stepped off the tour bus, Luke was waiting outside.
“You want to go grab a bite to eat?” I said to him.
He nodded. “Sure.”
Ernie came with us. We traveled into the city and stopped a local Chinese buffet. One of those all you can eat places. We took a seat in the corner. Ernie was constantly scanning the room. Under his watch I had never been in a situation where I felt my life was in jeopardy. This was the first time anything had gone wrong.
“I’m sorry if I was a little hard on you a few days ago.”
“That’s OK, boss. I wish I could have been there to prevent this.”
“Luke. Sorry, this isn’t exactly going the way it should have. I will make it up to you.”
“Listen, Chase. A life is more important than a career. I just want to see her back. As much as you.”
“You liked her, didn’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Back in Lakeside. When the contest was on. You took her out. She told me.”
“Yeah. She’s a good girl. But she only has eyes for you, my friend.”
I shook my head.
“You know, I’ve met a lot of girls in my time in this business, but none like her. I don’t know if when you find that one, it feels this way. But it feels different.”
“She’s definitely something else,” Luke replied.
As the waitress came over and took our orders for drinks I thought back to when I first met her. When she appeared at my door with breakfast. I had been stuck in trying to write anything good for a long time. My introduction to her was me appearing naked. The look on her face. The weeks that followed. They were all good memories. To think that I could lose her. That these assholes could take her from underneath my nose and then threaten to kill her, enraged me. She hadn’t expected this. She didn’t deserve this. I took my phone out and phoned Sophie. I excused myself from the table and walked over to the bar so Ernie could keep a close eye on me.
When Sophie picked up on the other end, she was sobbing.
Chapter 8
T he last time I remembered being in the news was when the shit hit the fan about Chase Bryan seeing a woman from a small town. My mug had appeared on the front page of the Washington Post. Now I was staring down at USA Today and once again I was on it. This time however it was for different reasons.
Edwin had snuck down a copy of the paper. I had been locked in this tomb for at least four days. Other than what Edwin had brought, they had given me very little food and water. I sat there deeply engrossed in the paper, it made a change from the boredom of being stuck inside this makeshift cell.
I pored over the news, read about celebrities and even found the obituaries interesting. I wondered if mine would appear there. They still hadn’t said anything. Except for speaking briefly with Chase on the phone they had made a point to tell me very little.
Reading about the weather only made me
“I got it.”
“Good.”
The phone line went dead. My eyes flicked over to the FBI agent who was in the process of tracing. He shook his head. Nothing.
“So I will gather up the money and have it ready for you.”
“We’ll have you travel in a car. Two FBI agents will be inside with you. Both of them will be armed. We’ll also have two snipers on location. You won’t see them. Neither will the kidnappers. The moment they go for the money, we’ll nab them.”
“Have you done this before?”
“Of course. Many times.”
“Did you recover the victim?”
“Most of the time. Sometimes they had already been murdered. But we stand a good chance of getting her back. There is a lot of money at stake here. I wouldn’t worry too much. They need her to be alive.”
I got a sense those weren’t exactly good odds. But we had little choice.
Mia pulled me aside. “This will all be over tonight. She will be back unharmed and with you. I promise.”
“You say that with such certainty. You don’t know.”
When I stepped off the tour bus, Luke was waiting outside.
“You want to go grab a bite to eat?” I said to him.
He nodded. “Sure.”
Ernie came with us. We traveled into the city and stopped a local Chinese buffet. One of those all you can eat places. We took a seat in the corner. Ernie was constantly scanning the room. Under his watch I had never been in a situation where I felt my life was in jeopardy. This was the first time anything had gone wrong.
“I’m sorry if I was a little hard on you a few days ago.”
“That’s OK, boss. I wish I could have been there to prevent this.”
“Luke. Sorry, this isn’t exactly going the way it should have. I will make it up to you.”
“Listen, Chase. A life is more important than a career. I just want to see her back. As much as you.”
“You liked her, didn’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Back in Lakeside. When the contest was on. You took her out. She told me.”
“Yeah. She’s a good girl. But she only has eyes for you, my friend.”
I shook my head.
“You know, I’ve met a lot of girls in my time in this business, but none like her. I don’t know if when you find that one, it feels this way. But it feels different.”
“She’s definitely something else,” Luke replied.
As the waitress came over and took our orders for drinks I thought back to when I first met her. When she appeared at my door with breakfast. I had been stuck in trying to write anything good for a long time. My introduction to her was me appearing naked. The look on her face. The weeks that followed. They were all good memories. To think that I could lose her. That these assholes could take her from underneath my nose and then threaten to kill her, enraged me. She hadn’t expected this. She didn’t deserve this. I took my phone out and phoned Sophie. I excused myself from the table and walked over to the bar so Ernie could keep a close eye on me.
When Sophie picked up on the other end, she was sobbing.
Chapter 8
T he last time I remembered being in the news was when the shit hit the fan about Chase Bryan seeing a woman from a small town. My mug had appeared on the front page of the Washington Post. Now I was staring down at USA Today and once again I was on it. This time however it was for different reasons.
Edwin had snuck down a copy of the paper. I had been locked in this tomb for at least four days. Other than what Edwin had brought, they had given me very little food and water. I sat there deeply engrossed in the paper, it made a change from the boredom of being stuck inside this makeshift cell.
I pored over the news, read about celebrities and even found the obituaries interesting. I wondered if mine would appear there. They still hadn’t said anything. Except for speaking briefly with Chase on the phone they had made a point to tell me very little.
Reading about the weather only made me
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