Quiver (a Suspenseful Romance Novel) (13 page)

T
he voice had been
clear as day, recognisable and scared. Reaching out to me, warning me. Max, letting me know my time was up.

Thoughts and questions whirled around in my head. How did Max know where I was? No, that didn’t matter, I thought. My mind made the leap: if Max knew, then so did his dad, Terry Quadrello. Terry, who would stop at nothing to get revenge, to wipe the slate clean and to protect his illegal empire.

Why are you still standing here!
my conscious mind screamed.

I snapped out of my daze and darted into the bathroom. My dress and undergarments were still damp but I pulled them on anyway and slipped my feet back into the slippers the nurse had given me.

I spun around the room, making sure I had everything, not that there was much to collect. Eric had seen to that. I still couldn’t believe he’d done a runner. But who could blame him? The money was too tempting and the airport was just a stone’s throw away.

And yet my heart ached. He’d told me that he would never leave me again and I’d believed him.

I shook my head. I had to take care of myself. Get out of this mess, or as far away as possible, out of the clutches of the Quadrello family.

I’d beg, I’d steal… I was determined to survive. I’d find a way.

In two big strides I was at the hotel room door, ready to open it and walk away, but noises echoed down the hall and I paused, waiting for whoever it was to pass. But the footsteps didn’t fade. They got louder and approached the door—my door—instead.

Oh, god. I was too late.

A gentle rapping startled me away from the door. “Room service,” a high voice chirped and my shoulders sagged in relief, the tension draining away from them.

My hand clasped the handle, turned the lock, and pulled the door open.

Standing across the threshold was not a little old woman I was expecting. Quite the opposite.

I tried, oh god how I tried, to close the door, but a thick, meaty hand pushed it hard, forcing me backwards, the slippers not providing any grip.

The man, the brute that had chased Eric and me from the hospital, was here, walking towards me, reaching out for me. I recoiled, screamed and moved away, looking for any kind of escape. But there was none.

Behind the goon, in strode Terry, a bitter grin twisting on his face. Happy he’d finally caught his prey.

I screamed again, hoping someone would hear me and come to my rescue, but no one did, and before I knew it the large man’s hand, thick and sweaty, clamped down upon my mouth, silencing me.

I struggled, of course. But it was no use. This was the end.

“At last, I found you,” Terry said as he closed the door and walked the short distance across the room. He sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress sagging under his bulky weight, and he peered up at me.

“We have a lot to talk about, you and me,” he continued as I squirmed within the grasp of his thug’s arms.

“And if you’re a good girl and you tell me where Eric is, with the least amount of fuss, we’ll make it a quick, clean, and pain-free death. Ricky doesn’t like getting his hands all bloody. Do you?” Terry beamed.

Like an obedient dog the man behind me grunted a negative and shook his head.

Bile rose up in my throat. There was nothing I could tell Terry that would save me. I had no chance of saving my own skin when I had no information to offer; he’d suss out a lie in a flash. I groaned between the thick, sausage-like fingers that held my mouth closed as tears welled up in my eyes.

“So, where is he? Where’s Eric?” Terry asked, his voice grave.

The pressure over my mouth subsided a fraction and I gasped in a lungful of air through the open seal of Ricky’s hand. His hold also loosened, no longer crushing my ribs.

I locked eyes with Terry before I said a word. I needed to make him know I was serious, that I was telling the truth.

“I. Don’t. Know,” I said, enunciating each word.

Ricky seized me again and gave my frame a tight squeeze, forcing the air out of me.

My fists pounded at his arms to release me but he held me tight until Terry gave a slight nod.

“Ricky can and will crack every bone in your body if you don’t tell—”

“I am telling you the truth!” I yelled, the frustration spilling out from me. “He left me, OK? Eric was here last night, but now he’s gone.”

“You expect me to believe—”

“Yes!” I screamed again, tears streaming down my cheeks. “I don’t know where he is. I don’t know why he didn’t take me with him…” I sobbed, letting my body go limp. I’d had enough. I was beyond tired. But I stopped crying; it was a pointless exercise. There was no way my tears were going to win Terry over, even if they were genuine. I snapped my head up. “If you’re going to kill me, then get it over with. I’m done talking to you,” I spat.

His brow furrowed as he regarded me through squinted eyes. He cocked his meaty head to the side, his rolls of fat bulging against his collar.

Terry placed his fleshy palms on his thick thighs and levered himself up to a standing position.

“So be it,” he said and shrugged. Terry walked to the door, and Ricky followed, dragging me along with him, almost carrying me, my feet barely touching the floor.

“Keep her quiet,” Terry added as he pulled the door open and popped his head out to check the corridor. At the base of my spine I felt a cold, hard object press against my skin. I looked down and saw the steel Ricky was silencing me with.

I gulped as Ricky pressed the gun harder into me, making sure I understood. I understood, alright; one word from me and I’d be riddled with bullets. My back arched away from the gun and I gave Ricky a disgusted look.

Turning my head away from the stench of Ricky’s mouth, I watched as all of a sudden the back of Terry’s head violently snapped back. In the open doorway of the room, a fist came out of nowhere and landed another punch square in Terry’s surprised face.

“Hi, Dad,” Eric said as he stepped into the room, watching as Terry fell backwards onto his large ass with a loud
whomp
.

Ricky tightened his grip on me and raised the gun to my temple, making sure Eric saw it.

“You OK?” Eric asked, eyes on me. I nodded; wasn’t much else I could do with a gun pointed at my head. But seeing him again, one last time, made everything alright.

From the floor a rumble of laughter boomed around the room. Terry rolled his head back, blood streaming from his nose and into the deep creases that lined his face. He laughed again.

“Dumb. I knew you couldn’t stay away from her,” Terry said.

“Don’t fucking move,” Eric growled as he stepped a heavy foot onto Terry’s ankle.

“You’re not the one giving orders here, son.” He tutted. “One nod from me and you can say goodbye to your precious Kate.”

“Let her go,” Eric continued.

I didn’t know what he was thinking; he had no leverage, no weapon. There was no way out; he couldn’t save me, wouldn’t be able to get to me in time before Ricky pulled the trigger. Eric was good, but he couldn’t outrun a bullet.

“And why would I want to do that?” Terry asked.

“Look, you can have me. That’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it? For me to come into the fold, be the son you always dreamed of. It’s the whole reason you got me kicked off the force, right? Right! So, just let her go,” Eric said as he raised his hands high and lifted his foot from Terry’s ankle.

“No, Eric,” I said. I couldn’t allow him to fall into the clutches of the one person he’d so desperately avoided all his life. Plus, we were in this together… either we died together or lived together.

“That ship has sailed, Eric,” Terry replied, shaking his head and sighing. He got to his feet. “Perhaps if you’d come to me a few weeks ago… but now? No, I can’t trust you. I’d always be looking over my shoulder. Besides, I already have someone I can trust.”

And as if on cue, the door swung open to reveal Max. The sight of him took my breath away; he looked totally drained, with dark black circles under his eyes. How he was standing after being shot, I did not know… no doubt Terry had forced him to come, most likely against medical advice. He stepped in and the small room seemed to shrink. It was becoming hot and stuffy with all the testosterone flying around.

Max levelled the gun he was holding at Eric and motioned for him to move over by the chest of drawers.

“See, my Max is becoming a good little soldier. Aren’t you, boy? Probably saw you skulking around and came in to see if we needed backup,” Terry beamed like a proud dad. “He’s got the smarts.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Dad, but I’m not your lackey,” Max replied, and with pinpoint precision he raised his arm, swung it a fraction to his left and aimed it at me.

“Max, no!” I screamed, thinking the worst.

Max squeezed the trigger, and before I hit the ground I saw Eric dive towards Max.

My fall was cushioned by Ricky’s body and I waited for the pain to arrive, to blossom within my chest, but it never came. Ricky’s arms about me went limp and I was released. I scrambled away on all fours and dared to look back. A perfect hole was dead centre in Ricky’s forehead and a stream of thick, almost black-looking blood oozed from it.

I forced myself to lock down the panic attack that was clamouring to escape and breathed in hard through my nose.

“No, what have you done? You little shit!” Terry bellowed from the opposite side of the bed. Eric had quickly regained his feet, realising what had happened, and took the chance to take Ricky’s gun, which he no longer had use for.

“Shut your fat mouth, Dad. I’m in charge now,” Max shouted and pointed the gun at his father. Terry’s mouth gaped open, like the mouth of a bass fish, then closed again.

From the floor Max turned his head and switched his attention to his stepbrother. The tension was suffocating and I dug my nails into my palms. They both held guns by their sides, ready. I locked my muscles in place, not wanting to cause either of them to shoot again or to disturb the fragile moment.

Eric stared right back at Max but his eyes softened, finally realising that Max was not his enemy. He stepped towards Max, calmly tucked the gun into his waistband, then held out a hand and pulled Max to his feet. A moment of understanding passed between them and they nodded at each other.

“You two better go,” Max said.

“What about him?” Eric replied as he nodded towards Terry.

“I’ll take care of it. You won’t have to worry about him coming after either of you anymore.”

Eric raised his eyebrow and re-evaluated his stepbrother. My legs trembled as I stood up, coming out of my crouch, and cautiously moved towards them both, skirting quickly past Ricky’s lifeless body on the floor. Eric claimed my shaking hand as soon as I was by his side, and I let him, happy he’d returned.

“So, it’s all over now?” I asked, not fully understanding.

Eric let out a sigh. “How can we trust you?” he asked Max.

“You can’t. You’ll just have to take my word for it.”

Eric nodded his head. “Fair enough. Sorry I shot you.”

Max shrugged and smiled. “I probably deserved it. Go now, before the police arrive. Someone’s bound to have called them.”

“Thanks, Max,” Eric called as he walked towards the exit. I let go of his hand and rushed back to Max and hugged him one last time, trying to convey my thanks in just that one embrace. I kissed him on his cheek.

“Take care, Kate. You better look after her, Eric,” Max warned.

“Oh, I will. I promise,” Eric said and once I was back by his side we dashed out of the room, down the corridor, and towards the back fire escape.

A
s we fled
Eric picked up a duffel bag I assumed he’d discarded earlier in the corridor and slung it over his shoulder. I could see his jaw muscles working as he did so; he must still be in a lot of pain, I thought. I’d rectify that as soon as I could.

We shimmied down the fire escape, my slippers falling off and floating to the grass below. Sirens in the distance wailed, getting closer with each passing second.

“Why did you leave me?” I asked breathlessly, broaching the question that had been plaguing me for what seemed like hours. Had he changed his mind, felt guilty and come back?

Eric’s feet touched down on the grass and he raised his arms, resting them on my hips, guiding me down. I turned to look at him as soon as I was on the ground. His eyebrows were knitted together.

“What do you mean? I didn’t leave you,” he replied and stroked the side of my face. Realisation hit him and his eyes went wide in panic. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have scared you like that, should’ve left you a note. But I told you I would never leave you again… I couldn’t sleep and you looked so peaceful and I thought it would be the perfect time to gather some things before we left for good.”

His blue eyes flashed and a smile crept onto his face. “Speaking of which…” He trailed off as he dug a hand into the bag. “Here, put these on,” he said and handed me a pair of running shoes.

“But, these are my trainers,” I replied as I studied them in my hands. My trainers from home. “You went to my flat?”

“Yup. Hurry, put them on. We have to go.”

The sirens were only thirty seconds or so away now at most. Eric took my hand once more and I smiled, never wanting to let go of him again as we headed off back towards the airport.

“We actually getting on a plane this time?”

“Definitely,” he replied. “Pick a destination and we’ll go. Anywhere, just as long as it’s hot.”

“But I don’t have my passport... Wait, let me guess, you picked that up too?”

“Of course,” he chuckled.

I laughed alongside him, allowing most of the stress and anxiety of the last few weeks to drain away from me like water down a plug hole.

“What will we do? How will we survive?” I asked, some of the uneasiness still lingering.

“It won’t matter. As long as we’re together we’ll get by. You don’t have to worry anymore. I promise to look after you, OK?”

“OK,” I responded, ready for a safe future together, looking forward. No longer having cause to glance back over our shoulders at the danger behind, but free from that world, never to return again.