Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (80 page)

     
Walking to the
center of the room, I studied the walls carefully again. Not with a critical
eye this time, but as a viewer who was looking at it for the very first time.
It was my dream, exactly as I had imagined it. It was an epic combination of my
favorite things. The underwater realm, long flowing fabrics, angels with wings,
and lights that seemed to dance and sparkle. I smiled, thoroughly pleased with
my work. I would have to remember to snap a few pictures when I came back
tomorrow.

     
To help make the
next day easier, I began cleaning everything up. I was very meticulous when it
came to washing the paint out of the brushes. Making full use of the bathroom,
I also relieved myself and cleared all the paint off of my face. After
returning to the room of angels, I organized the brushes and placed them back
into the bags they had come from, along with all the bottles of paint and other
various tools, which I set onto the scaffold. Next, I unplugged the iPod dock,
placing it beside the bags along with the fuzzy blanket, the two pillows, and
the stuffed bunny. Slowly, I rolled the scaffold into the break room and then
returned to grab all the drop cloths off the floor. Folding them up into my
arms, I placed them with the other things. Luckily, the flooring seemed to be
some sort of sand-colored marble that blended perfectly with my creation. I
came back for my purse and anything else that needed to be put away.

     
Finally, the
only thing that remained was the floor lamp. Taking one last look around, I
turned the switch off and unplugged it. When everything was neatly filed in the
break room, I closed both doors and let out a very large yawn. Pulling out my
phone, I saw that it was now 8:03.
Whoops.
Hopefully, Ethan wouldn't be
checking up on me. But even worse was that the phone was almost out of battery
since I'd forgotten to charge it during lunch. Quickly, I called for a cab
before heading down.

     
What the
hell am I going to do with the scaffold? I won't be able to fit it into a
cab…I'm just going to have to leave it behind, I guess.
As I neared the
elevator, I ran into Henry and Beth.

     
"Hey,
Daphne," Henry called with a smile. "It's pretty late. You been
working hard?"

     
I nodded.
"It's all done. After tomorrow, I'm free."

     
"You
finished? I'd like to see it," Beth said hopefully.

     
Henry chuckled.
"You'll have to wait to get permission from Desmond. I imagine he'll want
to be the first one to see it."

     
"Yeah, but
he's not here. How will he know if we take a peek?"

     
"I showed
you where the cameras are, remember? Trust me, he's especially finicky when it
comes to that corner of the floor."

     
I jumped in,
"I already put the lights away, so you wouldn't be able to see a thing,
anyway."

     
"Guess
I'll just have to wait, then. You catching a cab home?" Beth asked.

     
"Yeah, I
just called one. You guys have a good night." I pressed the call button
and the elevator doors opened, already waiting.

     
"You,
too."

     
"'Night,
Daphne," Henry waved.

     
Stepping in, I
hit the button for the lobby and leaned against the mirrored wall, closing my
eyes. My thoughts drifted to what I would be eating for dinner. I'd go for
pizza, but considering Tuesday night's feast, I knew it would be best to play
it a little more healthier. Brownies were definitely in order, though.
Was
there still any wine left?

     
As I walked
through the opening doors, I let out another yawn. There really was a
completely different vibe in the building at this time. Everything seemed
more…laid back somehow. Unless that was just me, knowing that I could finally
relax from now on.
It's like this is the beginning of the end, isn't it?

     
The cold air
hit me hard as I exited the glass doors of the building. It wasn't raining, but
it felt like it might start to at any given moment. Just as I reached the
sidewalk, the cab pulled up. I quickly looked around to see if it had come for
someone else, but I was the only person present.
That was pretty fast. They
must've been close.

     
I got in and gave my home address. The driver nodded and
began inputting something into his phone.
Is he looking it up?
I glanced
at the GPS on the dashboard, which appeared to be working fine.
Must be
texting someone, then.
He probably didn't need to look up directions,
anyway. Most drivers knew the area well enough.

     
I relaxed into
the seat, wondering if I should've given Ethan's address instead.
You don't
have any clothes with you, though.
I guess I would just go to his place
tomorrow and stay there for the rest of the weekend. He would be back on Sunday
- maybe I could surprise him? Although, it wouldn't be much of a surprise since
he'd already know I was staying there. And he'd probably be too tired to do
anything right away. Anyway, how did one even surprise a man like Ethan?

     
The vehicle
finally began moving, distracting me from my thoughts. As we started to drive
away, I saw another taxicab pull up in the spot we had just been in.

     
Suddenly, I
felt uneasy.
Did I just steal someone's ride?
If so, at least they'd have
another cab waiting for them. Letting out a heavy breath of air, I tried to get
more comfortable in my seat. Tried and failed. Something still didn't feel
right. But when I saw that we were headed in the right direction, I began to
calm down. That was when my phone began vibrating.

     
It wasn't a
number I recognized, but the area code was familiar. I answered, and the voice
of an operator began speaking. "Miss Vincent, your taxi is waiting."

     
Cold.

     
I felt really,
really cold.

     
It's okay,
Daphne. You just took the wrong cab. It's not like you jumped into some white
creepy van. Look, we're still headed towards the apartment.

     
Even so, I
decided to give Ethan a call for some extra reassurance. After the sixth ring,
he finally picked up. "Yes?"

     
It wasn't
Ethan.

     
It was Karina.

     
...
What the
fuck
?

     
"Where is
he?" I asked, suddenly more pissed off than anything else.

     
"In the
shower," she replied easily. "I can give him your message when he
gets out, if you like?"

     
That man is
going to have some more explaining to do.
"I need to talk to him.
Now."

     
Her next words
came out slowly, as though she were talking to a kid. "Like I said, he's
in the shower. Unless you want me to go in there and get him?"

  
   
Fuck it, she's seen him naked before. I'll
kick his ass later - I just need to hear his voice right now.
I gritted my
teeth and answered, "Yes, actually, I do."

     
Karina laughed.
"What's the emergency?"

     
"Can you
please just get him?"

     
A few seconds
of silence passed before she spoke again. "Can't. Door's locked."

     
"Then
knock
.
Please," I added, not wanting to be a total bitch. I couldn't have her
hanging up on me before she got a chance to give Ethan the phone.

     
I was relieved
when we finally came to my street.
See? It's fine.
Sighing, I reached
for my bag with my free hand to pull out some money, only to stop when we drove
right past the apartment building. My heart rate sped up.

     
"Excuse
me, you just missed it," I said to the driver. "Hello?"

     
Ignoring me
completely, he slowly began reaching for the glove compartment.

     
Time to
pray.
"Karina, please. I am
begging
you. Break the door down if
you have to, I don't care, just get him on the phone."

     
"Fine,
fine," she exhaled.

     
With eyes wide
open in fear, I watched as the driver pulled out a gun from the small
compartment. It was a revolver. The click of his finger cocking the hammer down
was all too familiar. Automatically, I reached for the door handle, not caring
that the vehicle was still moving. I had to get out no matter what. But when I
pushed on the door, it wouldn't open. I quickly checked the lock, only to find
that there wasn't one. Turning my head to inspect the other doors, I saw that
the gun was now pointed at me. The driver conveniently held it over his
shoulder so that I wouldn't be able to make a grab for it without him getting
at least one shot in. He glanced at me through the rearview mirror, keeping his
other hand steady on the steering wheel. It was hard to see his face in the
dark lighting, but I could tell that I had never met him before.

     
"…Karina?" I wasn't sure how many seconds had passed, but it
was far too quiet on the other end of the line. I looked at my phone and, sure
enough, it was dead.

     
Shit.

     
Okay,
breathe.
Karina would get back to Ethan. If they worked together, it
must've meant that he still trusted her to some extent. So even if she didn't
like me, she would still tell him. I'd made it clear that it was an emergency.
Right?

     
Wrong.
I
wanted more than anything to believe that, but something told me that I
couldn't depend on her for jack shit.
Okay…time to start thinking.

     
"Your
phone," the driver stated in low, throaty voice.
Did he want me to hand
it over?

     
"…It's
dead." My voice was small. Hopefully he wouldn't ask me to toss it.

     
Slowly, my hand
reached for my neck. I had the necklace on. Even if Karina said nothing, once
Ethan got his phone back he would probably know that I had tried to call him.
Once
he realizes that he can't get a hold of me, he'll definitely try to track me.
I was safe. I just had to stay alive until help came.

     
Swallowing, I
tried to speak again. "Can you tell me where we're going?"

     
The driver
didn't answer.

     
"Who you
are?"

     
Still no
answer.

     
"...Anything?"

     
Nothing.

     
I was about
three seconds away from banging on the windows and screaming my head off to try
and attract attention, but then I remembered that there was a gun pointed at
me. Settling back against the seat, I thought over what I knew about
self-defense.

     
The answer
might as well have been next to nothing. I had looked plenty of things up on
the internet in the past, but never really got a chance to practice in life.
Most of what I'd done with Ethan during our game was done out of automatic
response. And even though I had taken it seriously, in the end it was just that
- a game. It hardly counted as practice.

     
I started to
register some pain in my lip. That's when I noticed that I had been biting it.
Looking down, I could see that my hands were shaking. My entire body seemed to
be shaking, actually.
Not good.
I took a deep breath and tried to clear
my head. If I was going to get through this, I was going to have to stay calm.

     
More than that,
even. I needed to numb myself. I needed to be unafraid. But it was a very
difficult state to enter, because I
was
afraid. How could I help it?
Before, I'd always felt some inexplicable need to keep going and survive - but
I was never afraid of death itself. Never. How could I have been when there was
always a part of me that longed for it?

     
Things were
different now, though. Not only did I have someone who I loved, but I also had
a possible future. And now that I was actually on my way to living life as a
normal human being, I didn't want to die.

     
I closed my
eyes, ignoring the few tears that made their way down my face.
Dammit, I'm
not paying attention to where we're going.
Quickly, I wiped them away and
tried to focus on what was outside of the window, but it was too dark to see
anything.

     
What now, then?