TRAPPED (Breaking Free Book 2) (9 page)

I gape up at Hunter, amazed at his choice. I can guarantee you if the tables were turned, I would not be standing here with a smirk on my face as he drooled at some leggy stunner.

I shrug it off and flick my eyes back to the driver, who actually appears bored, judging from the toe tapping, and checking of his watch constantly on a scowl. He may be hot, but is coming across like a jerk. He has
n’
t once offered up even a hint of a smile, or even acknowledged us standing here.

“
Tony, this is Connie. You know the drill, eyes at all times
.
” Hunter barks, sounding harsh all of a sudden.

Tony in response simply nods at me, he does
n’
t even offer up
a‘
Hi
.
’
I’
m not so sure I want to be stuck in a car with this god looking arse wipe. I feel really uncomfortable in his presence, he clearly does
n’
t want to be babysitting me.

I half-heartedly say hello, annoyed when he does
n’
t acknowledge me in the slightest. Rude bastard.

“
Well, h
e’
s a bit up himself. Are you sure this bell end is the right man to keep Connie safe? How can you expect him to give two shits about what happens to her if he ca
n’
t muster up a half arsed smile for her
.
” Lottie, never one to keep her thoughts to herself tells Hunter, hands on hips and an eyebrow raised in question
.“
You may be hot, but holy hell you are a jerk, way to reassure a woman who has been to hell and back
.
” She throws at Tony, who in turn surprises us both by raising one side of his mouth in amusement, still keeping his eyes diverted from us though.

Hunter steps before me, ignoring Lotti
e’
s jibes and bends down to my level
.“
H
e’
s the best there is Connie, his priority is not to become your friend but to protect you. How do you expect him to observe everything going on around you if his eyes are fastened to your gorgeous face? You are quite the distraction woman
.
” He reassures me.

I must admit, I do see his point, but I still agree with Lottie, even a smile would suffice.

“
And Lottie
,
” he straightens up
,“
I would
n’
t be calling Harr
y’
s brother hot and a jerk, I do
n’
t think it would go down to well
.
”

Wai
t
… what? Harr
y’
s brother, holy fuck. Lotti
e’
s face whites dramatically, Hunter merely mentioning Harr
y’
s name sending my friend in to a tail spin.

Hunte
r’
s eyes are swimming with mirth, and i
t’
s not so hard to guess that he knows, he knows they have hooked up. Bollocks,
I’
m completely unsure as to how Lottie is going to react to this, but I know I need to get her out of here now.

“
Okay, so
I’
ll call you when we are on our way back
?
” I shift on the spot, desperate to get a move on, although by the looks of things I do
n’
t think Lottie is going to want to step foot anywhere near Tony.

“
Yes baby. Call me if ther
e’
s any problems
.
” Hunter agrees.

I practically shove a stunned Lottie in to the vehicle, doing up our seatbelts and telling Tony to take us to
Summe
r’
s
when he grunts
a‘
where t
o
’ from the drive
r’
s seat.

This should be interesting.

Hunter:

Waving my girl off to lunch with her friend, I ca
n’
t help but feel sick at watching her leave my sight. It was only yesterday I got her back, and
I’
m a bag of fucking nerves that that prick is going to try and pull something. Realistically I know she has the best of the best around her, protecting her and looking for Dan, but it does
n’
t stop irrational thoughts from surfacing now and again.

I want that prick caught and behind bars, then I can rela
x
… almost.

My phone buzzes from my pocket, and I answer it absently, not even looking at the name on the display before I hit connect.

“
Hunter
.
” I bark down the line.

“
Yeah i
t’
s me. We have a lead on Dan, one of the boys has picked up intelthat one of Conni
e’
s friends, Diane, has just made a police report. She has been receiving threats hourly for the last six hours, and from what we have been able to pull up, they are coming from him
.
” Harr
y’
s voice speaks urgently down the line.

Fuck, I knew the bastard could
n’
t lie low and give us a momen
t’
s peace, although if this helps us catch him then I suppose i
t’
s a good thing in the long run
.“
Any idea what the threats are
?
” I ask, dreading the answer.

“
Just varying letters. Some have photos of Connie and Diane, with Diane being cut out and things written across them lik
e‘I’
m going to cut you out of her life the painful way
.
’ And some nasty letters stating what he is going to do to make her pay for coming between their relationship. From what I have been told they are pretty sick. She has been asked to keep hold of any more letters and avoid touching them as much as possible, the rest have been taken for diagnostics, which does
n’
t help us any, but maybe he has left some sort of clue there. From what I can tell they keep appearing in random places around her home, some have even been couriered to her. Dan has completely lost the plot and is getting desperate
.
”

“
Cheers mate, you still at Lotti
e’
s? I want to hit Dian
e’
s with you
.
” I inform him, eager to get going.

The line is silent for a moment, before he huffs out a breath
,“
Yeah I am, how the fuck did you know? I thought I had this covered up and could creep out with you none the wiser, dammit
.
” Tha
t’
s quite laughable really, it was
n’
t hard to miss the grey t-shirt with a giant beaver across the front of it, situated in the doorway.

“
You might want to pick up your clothes when you are done, and before you argue they could be anybod
y’
s, who do you know that owns a top sayin
g‘
I love beaver
s’?
”

His laughter rumbles down the line for a few moments
,“
Oh man, you got me. Get your arse up here so I can fill you in on how we plan to do this thing. See you in a few
.
” And then h
e’
s gone.

I know h
e’
s hiding something, what, is the question though. I just hope i
t’
s nothing that affects me or my girl.

I pocket my phone, rushing my way back up to Lotti
e’
s apartment. Harry answers the door before I get the opportunity to knock, dressed in hi
s‘
I love beaver
s
’ t-shirt, jean shorts an
d‘
Va
n’s
’ trainers
.“
Le
t’
s go, the boys are out the front ready to go. We wannaget in and out as quickly as possible,
I’
m hoping we can be there when he drops one of these threats and we can catch the fucker. I want to put an end to this today if possible. Lottie is worried sick about Connie
.
”

Interesting, there is more going on between Lottie and Harry than I thought, for him to bring up Lottie in all of this is just strange. He has never cared how a woman feels before, well, not when it comes to sleeping with them, he is usually in and out, not one to hang around and hold a conversation.

I do
n’
t argue, I want this bastard caught more than anyone.

We walk side by side, Harry filling me in on wha
t’
s going to happen when we get to Dian
e’
s, and the rest of what she been through already. From what they can work out, there have been several dead flower deliveries, all from different companies, and all paid cash. The nastiest one was a wreath made from wilted flowers, with a sealed envelope accompanying it, stating insid
e‘
this is long overdue, you should have listened when I told you to go away, now you pay for being a meddling nosey bitch
.
’ Obviously Diane is quite hysterical over it all, and tha
t’
s understandable, we have no idea just how far Dan will go now. He has nothing to lose after all.

Upon arriving at Dian
e’
s house, I opt not to inform her of Conni
e’
s recent abduction, although we want her to be aware, we do
n’
t want to scare the woman senseless, I think she has had enough of that for the day.

Diane appears sceptical when we first request that she allows us to enter and talk to her, it takes me talking about Connie and jogging her memory on how we first met to get her to open up.

She holds the door open, her hand having a white knuckle grip to the side of the wood, as if readying herself to slam it in our faces. She is an absolute bag of nerves, shaking from head to toe, and eyes shifting between the pair of us as if we are going to pounce on her the second she removes s from her eyesight.

Harry is quick to pull out ID and inform her of why we are here, doing his best to reassure her that no one is here to cause her any harm, just catch the bastard harassing her.

I can tell that is she not going to allow us to come inside, not without being one hundred why we are here, and i
t’
s pretty clear I am going to have to use Lottie to do just that. Knowing Connie, if I filled her in on even the smallest thing going on here, she would be straight in the car and over here comforting Diane. As bad as I feel for keeping this from her, i
t’
s another thing I need to do to keep her safe. She can bitch at me later when I know that the fucker is out of the picture, until then, her safety is my number one priority.

Lottie picks up on the second ring, sounding suspicious.

“
Yes
?
” Is all she says.

“
I need a quick favour, one that Connie cannot know of. Can you do that
?
”

She hums down the line for a beat before answerin
g“
Yeah, but it depends what it is. And you better be quick, she has just gone to the loo and wo
n’
t be long. Spill
?
”

Fuck Sake, why has it all got to be so long winded, woman are so infuriating sometimes
.“
I need you to speak to Diane and let her know we are who we say we are, and are not going to cause her any harm. Do you think you can do that without informing Connie? Whatever she says to you, you need to keep this to yourself for the meantime though, if Connie finds out, there is a chance she could put herself in the direct firing line of Dan again
.
” My hearts going ten to the dozen, if this backfires and Lottie opens her mouth then the shit is going to hit the fan and Connie will be marching straight to Dian
e’
s door and making herself a prime target for Dan.

I make sure to relay the message to Diane with my eyes, to which, thankfully she nods, agreeing silently not to say a word to her.

“
Oh, uh, yeah. Of course. Is she okay though
?
”

“
Yes sh
e’
s okay. Had a scare but otherwise is fine. Can you keep this to yourself before I pass you over
?
” Come on woman, just a simpl
e‘
ye
s
’ will suffice.

“
Uh, yeah yeah, of course. Put her on
.
” I sigh gratefully and hand the phone over to Diane.

The conversation is thankfully quick and to the point, with Lottie reassuring Diane that we are there to help her and are safe to allow in. I can tell she still has her back up, but who the hell would
n’
t after the threats she has been receiving.

“
Come in
.
” She whispers, slamming the door shut behind us and placing the bolt and latch across it. Her cheeks glow when she turns to see myself and Harry watching her
,“
ca
n’
t take any chances, not with the kids in the house
.
”

That just pisses me off, why the hell has she been left alone after receiving some quite nasty threats? She has children in the house and the police just swan out and tell them to call her if she receives anything else.

“
Is there anybody you can call to come and stay with you?
I’
m sure it would make you feel safer having somebody else around
.
” Diane appears pensive, leading us to the sitting room, and after what seems like forever, shakes her head and looks to the floor.

I do
n’
t think I have ever come across as woman as skittish as this, and going by what I have heard about Diane from Connie, this is the complete opposite of her personality. She is in your face, loud and bubbly, and always one to speak her mind. These threats have really taken their toll on her.

“
No, I have
n’
t. I separated from the kids Dad after a stupid bust up, and he has kind of done a disappearing act. I have zero contact with him at the moment. I have tried to call and text but his number has been cut off, and all messages via Facebook are coming bac
k‘
unable to sen
d’
, he has totally cut me and the kids off, and now I actually need him I have no way to ask for help
.
”

A tear drops from her eye and rolls down her cheek. I sit beside Harry on the three-seaterblack leather sofa, unsure of what to do or say. This really is
n’
t my field of expertise, and as sorry as I feel for her, i
t’
s kind of making me uncomfortable.

“
How about a family member? Somebody you could go and stay with for a few days
.
” Again, she appears pensive, sitting and staring at her hands in her own little world.

Her phone ringing breaks the silence, and she murmurs a greeting, the words an automatic subconscious response.

Harry and I sit forward sharply in our seats, immediately recognising something is wrong. Her head is shaking from side to side, the wor
d‘
n
o
’ repeatedly falling from her lips as the colour drains from her face.

Harry grips her hand between his, attempting to ground her and offer up some form of comfort. He takes the phone from her other hand to place the handset on speaker and a male voice floods down the line.

We listen to him ranting away like a lunatic, not caring that all is quiet from this end, threats just spewing from his mouth. Harry points Diane out of the room and begins writing down information the second she leaves.

Several horns blare down the road, and our heads snap to one another when the sound comes down the phone line too. The fucker is close, real close.

We have him, finally.

It takes us seconds to reach the windows, our eyes flitting left and right, desperate to get a glimpse of him and start the chase. As If somebody has answered our prayers, my eyes catch an open vehicl
e’
s door, the rest of it unseen as it is parked before a delivery van. I nudge Harry in the ribs and point down the road to the right, just as a man dressed in a baseball cap, hooded jumper and tracksuit bottoms steps out of the mostly hidden vehicle and closes the door.
I
t’
s him, I know it is. I may not be able to see his face, but the height, body type and shiftiness of this bloke is a dead giveaway. The fact that the car door slamming comes though the phone at the precise time we see it, also cements the fact that we have him, we have Dan, now we just need to catch the fucker. I swear
I’
m gonna tear him to shreds for what he has done to my girl.