The small crowd in front of her dispersed, and there stood a man with the most diabolical smile on his face. Tobi swallowed hard, feeling her hands tremble and her heart racing. This was the eerie man from the elevator that day, and the same man she saw in the parking lot afterward. He’d been watching her all along. Tobi felt anger well up within her, and had to remind herself why she was here.
Ryan, this is for Ryan.
He sat down next to her and remained silent. Tobi started to fidget as she waited for him to say something. Not being able to stand it any longer, Tobi broke the silence.
“Where is she?”
“What, you don’t wanna know how I am or how my day has been?” he asked, feigning a hurt posture. “How’s the head feelin’?”
Tobi saw the cocky grin on his face and faltered momentarily as understanding dawned on her. This was the man also responsible for the incident in the tunnel. Instinct told her she needed to get as far away from him as quickly as possible, but she was more concerned at this point about Ryan.
Tobi’s muscles tensed and her palms became damp as she raised her chin defiantly. “Cut the sarcasm; you know why we’re here.”
“Tsk, tsk, Dr. Drexler. You don’t need to be rude.”
“Please, can you just tell me where she is?”
“In due time. Isn’t it a lovely night out?”
“Why are you doing this to me?” Tobi asked with a slightly raised voice.
He leaned toward her. “Listen, bitch, we do this at my pace and no faster. You ever wanna see her alive again, you’ll shut your fuckin’ mouth and do what I say, you got that?” Swiping a hand across his face, he smeared a line of saliva that had slipped out during his tirade.
“Yes.”
He sat back and replied, “Good.”
Tobi chose to remain quiet and looked around to see if she could pick out any of Jake’s men or Jake himself. She wanted to appear nonchalant, but if her heart beat any louder, it would give her away.
“You don’t have a fuckin’ clue what this is all ’bout, do you?”
“No, I really don’t.”
“Well, you will before it’s all done and over with.”
“Is it something Ryan did?”
With a snort, he stood up and started walking away. Tobi thought he was going to leave when he turned back and walked toward her. He stopped directly in front of her and bent at the waist so his face was within inches of her own.
“That your bitch’s name?”
“That’s my girlfriend’s name, yes.”
He waited a few seconds before saying anything more. “I bet you love her a lot, don’t you?”
Unsure of how to answer, Tobi spoke from the heart. “Yes, I love her very much. I’d do anything for her.”
“That’s good to know, Doc, because you just may have to.”
He sat back down and leaned in close. “Do you take me for a fool, Doc?”
“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Do you think that I would just assume you came here without any kind of help?”
“I came alone, just like you asked.”
Laughing, he grabbed her arm, digging his nails in through her coat, and hissed, “She’s a cop, you stupid bitch.” With a jerk to her arm, he let go and leaned back.
She rubbed her arm to alleviate some of the pain but had no idea what to say. Luckily, she didn’t have to talk because he started speaking before she got the chance.
“Here’s what we’re gonna do. You’re gonna follow me, and we’re gonna lose your tails. If I’m satisfied with what I see, I’ll take you to her. If not, you’re both dead. Understand?”
“Yes.”
I’m sorry, Jake, please forgive me. I have to take a
chance for Ryan’s sake.
Victor took her arm and jerked Tobi away from the direction she had entered. He knew that all the main entrances and alleys would probably be monitored, so he’d already made plans for their escape another way. Going into one of the shops, he said, “You’ll have to hurry to keep up with me.” They ran down some back stairs that opened into an underground passage, past several overflowing trash bins, and boxes upon boxes piled high. This appeared to be the place where all the stores dumped their trash for pickup. Victor pulled her through a dark and damp tunnel where the stench was so strong that Tobi felt bile rising in her throat. Just when she thought she couldn’t stand it any longer, they came to the end of the tunnel, which opened into another underground passage. He opened one of the large steel doors and pushed her up the stairs. At the top, they went through another door that led directly into an alley. Looking around, Tobi realized they were across the street from the mall. “Over here,” he said, yanking her arm toward a beat-up old van. He opened the door and motioned for her to get in. When she hesitated, he gave her a hard shove in the back.
“It’s her funeral.”
She climbed into the van and winced as he slammed the door.
He hopped behind the wheel, started the van, and put it in gear all in one motion before quickly pulling away from the curb at high speed. Tobi wasn’t able to retain much about where they were going. Not knowing what else to do, she reached into her pocket, opened her cell phone, and pushed a couple of random buttons.
She wasn’t sure what number was being speed dialed. She quickly pulled her hand back out because she didn’t want to draw his attention to what she was doing. He darted in and out of traffic before exiting off the highway onto a residential street. Several blocks later, he pulled into a driveway, jumped out, and slammed the door. Yanking Tobi’s door open, he roughly pulled her out.
Tobi almost fell to her knees, but caught herself on the door and stood up.
She followed him up some worn steps and waited while he unlocked the door. He pushed it open and shoved her through as he stepped in. After he closed and locked the door, he looked at her.
“You did good. I had my doubts, but you must really love her.”
Tobi ignored his remarks and just stood there. He wrenched her arm and pulled her down the hall and shoved her into a dimly lit room. Tobi stumbled over something on the floor and fell to her knees. As she stood back up, the lighting in the room intensified.
“Time to wake up, bitch. You’ve got company.”
Tobi froze after hearing those words. Tied to a chair was a bruised and battered Ryan. She had a large mark on the side of her cheek that was partially obscured by a piece of tape covering her mouth. The side of her head appeared damp but from what Tobi wasn’t sure.
Tobi’s entire chest ached, and it took every ounce of her willpower not to run to Ryan immediately.
He grabbed Ryan by the hair and Tobi could hear her whimper. He pulled her head up and jerked it around before yelling, “I said, wake up!”
Slowly, Ryan’s eyes opened, and Tobi could see the glazed and dilated look. She definitely had some kind of head injury, but Tobi was unsure of its extent.
“Stop!” Tobi knew she was taking a huge chance but walked over and shoved his arm away from Ryan. Glaring, he backed away and leaned against the wall.
“Ryan?” Tobi reached for the edge of the tape and gently pulled it off. Seeing Ryan’s split lip and the blood on the tape made her blood boil. She was trying hard not to completely lose her temper now because she knew it would do neither of them any good. First chance she had, though, Tobi was going to make sure this bastard paid for every bump and bruise on Ryan’s body.
Tobi put her fingers under Ryan’s chin and raised her head.
God baby, what has he done to you?
Tobi could see tears and reached up with her thumbs to wipe them away.
“I’m sorry,” Ryan whispered.
here the hell did they go?” Jake shouted.
“They just disappeared, Jake. I don’t know what W happened.”
“Damn! Now, he’s got them both. Whatever her reason for leaving with him, it had to be pretty important. I drilled it into her to stay away from him!”
He opened his phone and punched in Grace’s number. As he waited for her to answer, he paced in front of the bench. How the hell was he going to explain to her what happened?
“Hello?”
“Grace, it’s Jake.”
“What’s going on?”
“Well, I don’t even know how to say this, so I’ll just spit it out. Tobi went with him, and they disappeared. I have no idea where they went or even what direction to check. Did the station call back yet with that address?”
“No. What do you mean she went with him? She knew that was too dangerous.”
“I know,” he said, sighing. “Whatever the reason, Grace, I’m sure she felt she had to.”
“Dear Lord, Jake, what are we going to do?”
“Just hang tight. I’m going to try one other thing. I’ll call you back, okay?”
“Yes, all right.”
He disconnected the call and immediately dialed another number. After the first ring, it went to voice mail. If Tobi had her cell phone on, that could mean a couple of things. Either she was using it or she was thinking along the same lines he was and turned it on so there was the possibility she could be tracked.
“Captain, I think we should call the phone company and find out what cell tower she’s closest to. If we can narrow it down, among all of us we should be able to cover that area pretty fast.”
“Good idea. You get on that, and I’m going to try and get those guys to pull their heads out of their asses and get me that fucking address!”
Jake watched as the captain stalked back to his car. He then placed a call to the cell phone company’s corporate office.
“This is Sergeant Jake Smith, Badge Number 994, and I have a life and death emergency.”
Jake patiently explained the situation and was told that if he went to the company’s nearest cell phone dealer with proper identification, they would fax him the information he needed. If Tobi’s phone had been a newer model they could have given him her exact location with the advancement of technology. After relaying this information to the captain, Jake headed to a nearby phone dealer. He obtained a map of the general area the signal was coming from and called the captain.
Agreeing that they’d all meet in a central location, Jake hung up and placed a call back to Grace.
“We have the general area she’s in. We’re all headed that way.
I’ll keep you updated as to what’s going on.”
“Thank you.”
Grace hung up the phone and turned to Tim, visibly shaken.
Tim pulled her to him in a comforting hug. “Keep your chin up, Grace. Ryan’s smart, and you know she won’t let anything happen to Tobi.” At her tentative nod, he said, “C’mon, let’s go play some cards. It’ll take our minds off it a little.”
She smiled and followed him into the kitchen, all the while saying a silent prayer.
Please watch over my girls.
“Sweetheart, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Tobi said, looking lovingly into Ryan’s eyes. She knew Ryan was in a lot of pain because her normally vibrant eyes looked so dull. Tobi tilted Ryan’s head so she could see the side of it; there was a nasty gash that appeared to have bled quite a bit but was dry at the moment.
“Get away from her!”
Tobi almost forgot the man was still standing there and jumped when he yelled. She backed away from Ryan and looked at him.
“Still haven’t gotten any nicer, huh, Victor?” Ryan said.
Tobi bit her lip as he walked over to Ryan. She flinched when he grabbed Ryan by the face. “You’re in no position to be smartin’
off to me, you little bitch, so keep your mouth shut.”
He shoved her face away from him, and Tobi could see white marks on Ryan’s skin where his fingers had been. Ryan looked at Tobi and winked. Tobi wasn’t sure what Ryan was up to, but watching him physically attack her was almost more than she could tolerate.
“Sit down.”
Taking a seat on the farthest end of the couch allowed Tobi to keep Ryan in her sight, as well as Victor.
“Are you going to tell me what this is about?”
He looked at Ryan and asked, “You wanna tell her, or should I do the honors?” Seeing that she was going to keep quiet, he turned back to Tobi.
“Where to even start…” he said, pausing. “How ’bout the day you completely destroyed my life?”
“Me? What is it that I supposedly did to you?”
“You took the love of my life and my child from me.”
“Victor, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tobi said completely confused.
“Sylvia—do you remember her, or are they all just a blank face to you?”
Tobi glanced toward Ryan briefly then looked back. “I remember her, but what do I have to do with all this?”
“It’s your fault that she’s dead. You let her die,” he said, pointing the gun at her. “Why didn’t you save her? Answer me that!”
“I did everything in my power to help her, Victor. She had taken some kind of drug, and that’s what ultimately killed her.”
“She didn’t take drugs. Why are you sayin’ that ‘bout her?”
As he paced around the room, Tobi could tell he was getting angrier and angrier.
“Why do you think she didn’t take drugs?”
“Because she was always on my case ’bout them. I promised her I would get off the drugs, but it was so hard.”
“I understand, Victor.”
“You don’t understand nothin,’ bitch, but you will.”
He walked over to the recliner and sat down. “You’ll understand soon enough what losin’ someone you love feels like.”
With sudden clarity, Tobi realized that no matter what happened, he was going to kill Ryan. Glancing in her direction, Tobi knew that she would do whatever she had to for Ryan to survive this.
“Why don’t you just let her go and take me? I’m the one you really want.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that ’cause when I’m done with her, you’re next. You think I’m gonna let you just walk right out of here after watchin’ me off your girlfriend?”
“Why don’t you tell us about your brother, Victor? Did you kill him, too?” Ryan asked.
He stood up, walked over, and backhanded her, causing her split lip to bleed again. “Shut up! You don’t have a fuckin’ clue what you’re talking about.” Striding back to the wall, he clenched his fists before turning back around. “It was an accident. I tried to save him.”
“Just like Dr. Drexler tried to save Sylvia?”
The bottom of Tobi’s stomach was raw. A ball of fear worked its way up and threatened to choke her.
What the hell are you
doing, Ryan?