Designer Desires (13 page)

Tony

Tony disconnected the call from Jake; it would seem his father had been a very busy man indeed. However, although Misty didn’t seem to be working with him any longer, she damn sure is the one who took Korrine. Now they needed to figure out the motive behind his father’s involvement, but they couldn’t figure out why Misty was still involved if she cut ties with the dirty bastard. Jake’s guys were sitting on Misty, and she hadn’t made a move or used her phone all day. If those asses let her get away this time, they would definitely have hell to pay. She was the only lead they had to finding Korri, especially since nobody had seen or heard from Steve. His assistant claimed he left for Houston two days before and she hadn’t heard from him since. None of Jake or Tony’s contacts in Houston had located him. It seems old Stevie boy gave them the slip. If he had any idea what Misty was up to, he left before the plan was set in motion.

It was time to pay Misty a little visit. Just before Tony was about to leave, he got a phone call.

“Hello?”

“Hello…” Tony immediately realized that the caller was speaking into a voice changer, so he just waited, held his breath in anxiety and listened. “I think I have something that belongs to you. I need you to cooperate and this can end quickly and quietly without anyone getting hurt. Don’t call the authorities or your nosey ass cousin, or the only thing you will need to worry about is finding her body.”

“What do you want?”

“Money… one million to be exact. I will contact you on the phone left at the front desk of your building with instructions of the drop off location and the time.” The caller disconnected before Tony had a chance to ask any more questions.

“Damn it!” Tony yelled as he slammed his phone down, rushing to the front desk of his building. He knew he wouldn’t have to tell Jake about the call. They knew this was about money, and that it was only a matter of time before that is exactly what they asked for, so they had been waiting for it. Jake put a trace on Tony’s phone just to prepare for this situation.

Tony reached the front desk of his building and was handed the phone without asking. The guy behind the counter just nodded in the direction of one of Jake’s guys, indicating he knew what was going on. As soon as Tony retrieved the phone, it began ringing. It was a burner phone so they wouldn’t be able to trace the call, but at least the surveillance on his building should give them a clue as to who dropped the phone off.

Before Tony could say hello, the caller gave him directions on where the next phone pickup would be. The caller let him know that he had ten hours to retrieve the money. At the end of the ten hours, he would receive another call. Tony didn’t have time to explain that he couldn’t get that amount of money in such a short period of time. But he knew Korrine’s life depended on him coming through with the money, so he would do what he had to do to make sure he had the cash. Tony was going to have to call in a lot of favors to make sure he had the unmarked bills. He knew that it was a possibility that he may not be able to recover the money if the plan backfired, but he didn’t care about the money. Tony had to get his woman back!

It was good that Tony knew the right people. Working with professional athletes, being a semi-celebrity and a very rich man in his own right got him acquainted with quite a few people that could be discreet and help him get exactly what he needed. In a couple of hours, Tony would have everything he needed to make the drop. Then all he would have to do was wait for the phone call that would tell him when and where to leave the money.

Tony wasn’t a fool; he knew for certain that Misty was behind this whole thing, but he didn’t know who was helping her. Jake’s guys had been sitting on Misty since they found her location in the downtown hotel suite a few hours ago. She hadn’t made so much as an attempt to leave the building; she ordered room service and she never used her cell phone. Jake pulled some strings with an old buddy from the service and got a rushed APB put out on Steve in connection to Korrine’s stalking case. He had been found in south Texas trying to make his way across the border. He had no idea Korrine was missing, but with the evidence Jake’s guys had managed to dig up on him, Steve was more than happy to cooperate so he wouldn’t be indicted for the kidnapping. With everything going on and the knowledge that Steve was no longer helping Misty, Tony had no idea who had Korrine and he was still waiting for the drop information from the mysterious caller.

Tony didn’t think his father would sink so low as to kidnap someone. No, the Cameron name meant too much to him, so he wouldn’t do anything so bold as to jeopardize the name. He just couldn’t wrap his head around who would be so desperate to help Misty to do this.

Korrine

Korrine had no idea who would do this. After waking with a start, her hands and feet were still tied to a chair and her head was full on banging. Her vision was blurred a little, and she still didn’t recognize where she was.

She heard footsteps coming and began to shake in fear. Korrine had no idea what was coming her way or who.

“Hey there, sunshine. Are you awake yet?” Jeff asked taking the gag out of Korrine’s mouth. His face was covered, so Korrine wouldn’t be able to recognize him; they hadn’t spent enough time together to be able to identify his voice.

Korrine opened her eyes slowly afraid of what she might see, but it was a man in a mask. It wasn’t the blond from before, and it wasn’t Steve. Steve was shorter and thinner than the man standing before her. Korrine had no idea who this person was.

“Who are you?” Korrine asked slowly. “And what do you want with me?”

“Now, now. I’m not one of those stupid criminals that tell all their plans to the hostage just so you know what’s going on. No, I like to keep them guessing; makes the experience more fun,” Jeff said with a sinister laugh.

“Look, I don’t have any family,” Korrine stammered, as the throbbing pain in her head was nearing unbearable. “I’m sure I don’t have the kind of money that warrants a hostage situation. So I really don’t have a clue as to what you think you can get from holding me here.”

“Like I said, you don’t need to know any plans,” Jeff hissed, placing the gag back in Korrine’s mouth. She didn’t struggle, but worry raced through her body as he continued. “But please believe you are worth holding hostage. Now, I think that’s enough conversation for now. It’s time for you to shut up so I can get this shit done.”

Korrine knew something wasn’t right because she could feel her head spinning. She didn’t know how long it had been since she was taken, but she knew she needed medical attention because it was hard for her to remain conscious and her vision was still blurry. Just when her vision started to focus more, she heard the man cursing.

“Fuck! Where is this bitch? Nobody is answering the phones!”

Jeff paced back and forth, trying to figure out what he missed. At exactly ten hours, he called the phone number Misty gave him that was supposed to be Tony’s burner phone. But there was no answer. Maybe Tony didn’t love Korrine as much as Misty claimed. Why wouldn’t he answer a ransom call? Jeff called the phone several times before calling the burner phone Misty had.

“Fuck!” he cursed as there was no answer there either. Jeff had no idea what was going on, but he had a bad feeling about this whole situation.

Korrine started to cry, letting the tears silently slip down her face as she came to realize her captor was slowly losing his mind. He was pacing and cursing and making calls, but he never talked to anyone. She was terrified that whatever this lunatic had planned was falling apart, and she was about to be a casualty. She was tied to the chair so tight that her hands and feet were numb, and she definitely couldn’t reason with a crazy person. Korrine had come to the very real conclusion that she just may die here today. She sent up a prayer to God, asking if she had been a good enough person to make it to heaven, if she could be reunited with her mother and father, and that Brandon and Lauren would forgive her for leaving them and lean on each other for support. And her last prayer was for Tony, that this incredibly strong man would remain strong and someday find someone worthy of his love and over protectiveness.

Thinking about her love for Brandon, Lauryn, and Tony, Korrine smiled to herself as the tears flowed freely.

“What the hell are you smiling about?!” Jeff all but snarled at Korrine.

Korrine couldn’t answer him because she had a gag in her mouth, so she remained silent. She didn’t want to agitate the crazy man more than he already was.

Jeff snatched the gag out of Korrine’s mouth.

“This is your fault.  If Tony loved you, he would have paid the damn ransom!  Now, what the fuck am I going to do?!  I’m stuck here with you!  I have got to find a way out of this mess!”

He was ranting and raving and acting like the lunatic he was. Korrine whimpered as she tried not to have a full on breakdown.

“I have to get out of here,” Jeff huffed.  He put the gag back in Korrine’s mouth and he started throwing things in a duffel bag when the burner phone started to ring. “Yes?!” Jeff shouted into the phone.

There was silence on the other end, and Jeff started to panic. He dropped the phone and started hastily grabbing anything that would incriminate him. He picked up the duffel bag and headed towards the door.

“Sorry, but you’re not worth all this trouble,” Jeff stated as he headed towards the door, leaving a sobbing Korrine tied to the chair in the abandoned warehouse.

Misty

Misty looked in the mirror at her new brown bob haircut. She would miss her long blond tresses that made her look like a real life Barbie.
Yeah, well, that didn’t get me what I needed. So maybe this look will suit me better,
Misty thought to herself as she placed brown contacts over her blue eyes. She dressed in a baggy jumpsuit and ballet flats. The real Misty wouldn’t be caught dead in this outfit, but it made her unrecognizable. She couldn’t wear her signature tight bandage dress, or someone would definitely know it was her.

Misty got the burner phone to place the ransom call. She had given Jeff a bogus number, knowing the burner phone would only be used once and then replaced with another. He was so caught up in her manipulations that he couldn’t see straight. Jeff would never see the double-cross coming until it was too late. The burner phone, having Jeff stay with Korrine in the abandoned building, having him call in the first ransom…it was all part of the set-up. Who in the hell asked for money in a bag when money in an account was much more accessible? Why risk someone seeing you or putting a tracker in the bag? Jeff was so gullible. Misty had it all worked out; knowing some not so good people came in handy from time to time. You paid a fee, and they did the job with no questions asked. She paid a pretty penny for the security feed to Korrine’s apartment to be cut, and she paid a hefty price for a new identity, along with a passport, credit cards, and an account in the same name.

Misty left the hotel. She knew they would be waiting for her, but Misty Austin would never leave the hotel because her new identity, Victoria McCoy, was already on the other side of town in an abandoned warehouse district making a ransom call.

Misty made her way to the airport parking in a long-term garage.  As she maneuvered the car into a secluded spot, she made the call.

“Hello,” Tony answered sounding almost desperate.

“Change of plans…I want you to wire the money to an account,” Misty ordered using the voice scrambler.

“That wasn’t the deal!” Tony yelled. “How do I know Korrine is even still alive?”

“I’m running this show, and the bitch
is
alive! But she won’t be for long if I don’t get my money!”

“How do I know you won’t kill her as soon as you get your money if she’s still alive? I’m not a stupid man. I need proof of life before you get a dime.”

Misty knew that was coming. That’s why she had a camera set up on Korrine, and it was also there to help Jeff take the fall since he was the only one there at the location.

“I’ll send a live feed to you of your precious woman, and then I want my money,” Misty replied rolling her eyes.

Misty disconnected and sent the feed to Tony of Korrine tied to a chair. Jeff wasn’t in the frame, so it was helpful. Then she placed another call to Tony.

“You got what you asked for. Now give me my money,” Misty sneered with narrowed eyes.

“But if I give you the money, how will I find Korrine?”

“I will give you the account number. As soon as the money is transferred, you will automatically get coordinates to where you can find the girl.”

“Unharmed?” Tony confirmed.

“Unharmed. I have nothing to gain from hurting the girl. I just want my money.”  Misty said smirking.

Misty gave the account number to Tony and disconnected. As soon as she got the confirmation, she texted the location of the warehouse where Jeff had Korrine. Misty then made a call to Jeff. Once he answered the call, she dropped the burner in a trash can and made her way inside the airport.