The Hostage (9 page)

Chapter 12

Sarah grabbed Drake’s arm and stood.

“You’re coming with me,” she said.

“Great.” He smiled again, the look of concern from a moment ago had disappeared.

“No jokes. This is serious.”

“Whatever you say.”

She walked through the opening in the counter and stepped into the back of the coffee shop, Drake in tow. Two men worked by a donut fryer.

“Is Mike here yet?” Sarah asked.

The bigger man of the two held a tray of uncooked donuts about to go into the fryer. “Who’s Mike? We got no Mike works here.”

“I’m Janet Reeds and this is Kevin Miles,” Sarah said. “We’re from corporate. Mike is meeting us here to discuss the franchisee license infractions and complaints we have received. If he’s not here yet, then we’ll wait in our car in the back.”

She stepped past the steel table in the middle and headed for the back door. No one said anything more or tried to stop them.

Confidence wins any time.

At the back door, Sarah heard a commotion coming from the front. Whoever they were running from had entered the coffee shop and was coming now.

Damn, that’s fast.

She smacked the door hard, swung it open and ran up the alley toward the next street.

“Come on,” Sarah said as she pulled on Drake’s shoulder. “We have to run.”

“What’s going on?”

“I have no idea, but when my sister says run, we run.”

Cars raced by the entrance to the alley, all of them going to the left. The sign on her right said that Adelaide Street was a one-way. An orange taxi approached.

“Come on,” Sarah said and ran toward it.

The cab driver noticed them and slowed, pulling to the side of the road. Sarah got in on one side and Drake the other.

“Go!” Sarah said.

The driver hit the gas. Two seconds later they passed the alley they’d just exited.

She saw Rod Howley running up to the street.

“Shit,” Sarah said, slapping her hand on the door handle. “How did he find me so fast?”

“Who is that? And why is he looking for you?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Sarah said. Then leaned forward and addressed the driver. “Take us to the CN Tower.”

The driver nodded and Sarah sat back in her seat.

“Why the CN Tower?” Drake asked. “Do you realize how close that is to the baseball stadium? We just left that area.”

“I know.”

“Are you sure you want to go there?” Drake asked.

“They’d never expect us to head back that way.”

Sarah took the few minutes in the back seat of the cab to explain who Rod was and what he wanted from her. Drake became visibly upset the more she told him.

“How dare he? How’s that even possible? Could one man be so powerful? That’s dangerous in itself.”

Sarah nodded and twisted in her seat to look out the back window. None of Rod’s vehicles trailed them. Maybe this time she had gotten away clean.

“Well, fuck him,” Drake continued. “I’m sick of people pushing others around. It’s time to push back and see how they dance.”

Sarah raised her eyebrows, surprised by Drake’s response, but also liking it.

Drake saw her expression. “I’m serious,” he said. “No more. I’ve lived my whole life doing the right thing, trying to be socially correct. What did it get me? Attacked by a woman I once loved.” He lowered his voice and leaned in close to Sarah. “People were murdered. I was almost killed numerous times. I’ll have mental and physical scars forever. No more. Shit, I was almost shot again today.”

The look in his eyes got her. Sarah actually felt lightheaded, which surprised her. She turned away from him and looked out the cab’s window to hide her face. No one had ever spoken to her as deep and as serious as Drake did. A myriad of possibilities raced through her mind. Could Drake be the one?
 

Too soon.

What was love like? After all she’d been through and done, all the people she’d killed or seen killed, was she capable of love? Or even
allowed
to love?

God willing.

Chapter 13

Elmore parked his vehicle in an underground facility one block from the Rogers Centre. He had to act fast as the window of opportunity was closing. He locked his car, took the stairs two at a time and walked along Front Street.

At the first bar he found, Elmore stepped inside and headed to the counter with all the confidence of a lead detective.

The woman behind the bar nodded.

“What’ll it be?” she asked.

“I’m looking for this girl,” Elmore said, holding a picture of Sarah out. “She escaped us at the Rogers Centre a few hours ago and we’re canvassing the area.”

“You got ID?”

Elmore pulled out his fake detective badge and showed the woman. He felt like making her eat the ID, but maintained resolve in his attempt to have Sarah.

“Haven’t seen her,” the woman said.

Bitch.

“You’re late,” she said.

“Late? How’s that?” Elmore asked.

“Your colleagues were by an hour ago,” the bartender said as she walked away.

Elmore left the bar, his spirits buoyed. If the cops were still in the area looking for Sarah, that meant she hadn’t been picked up yet. She could be around the next corner.

He picked up his step and hit business after business along Front Street. He worked Bremner Boulevard and York Street until finally, two hours after the stampede at the Rogers Centre went live on Twitter, he turned up Spadina where he headed north. With no luck, his mood soured.

His suit jacket covered the police uniform, and the fake mustache he had applied in the car was as thick as Magnum P.I.’s. He felt quite confident he’d never be placed in the vicinity as people wouldn’t think to finger a detective when Sarah’s missing person’s case went into full gear.

All he needed was someone who had seen her enter a building or take a subway. Someone, anyone, to give him direction and then he’d be on his way. Or if the police had her, at least he’d know.

The area quieted down as evening approached. The baseball fans had already left, except for the few stragglers who stayed behind to drink. Even the police presence had grown lighter.

“Shit, I was so close,” he mumbled to himself as he passed Adelaide Street.

He looked up at the Tim Horton’s and decided to go in. Out of options, he walked up to the till in the near empty coffee shop and ordered a large black coffee.

The young girl behind the counter smiled at him and turned to pour it for him. As a last resort, he pulled Sarah’s picture out and set it on the counter.

The clerk turned back and set the coffee down beside the picture.

“Have you seen this girl today?” Elmore asked in his official cop voice.

The girl smiled at him. “Have I seen her? I’m the one who saw everything.”

“Everything?” Elmore asked, instantly realizing he was just given another chance. “What does that mean?”

The girl looked around, her gaze stopping on the two customers in the store. Neither one paid them any attention. She turned back to Elmore.

“I work the three to eleven shift. Just before my shift I was in the back office getting my cigarettes for a quick puff before my shift started. Two people came into the back and asked for some guy named Mike. Something about complaints from corporate.” She waved her hand in the air. “There’s no Mike here, so we brushed it off.”

The girl leaned in closer to Elmore and whispered. “This girl in the picture and the guy she was with ran out the back and disappeared. I went to leave out the front door to have my cigarette and walked past a man with, like, four guys in tow. He looked seriously pissed. He also had a photo and Louise told them the girl they were looking for just ran out the back.”

“Wow,” Elmore said to egg her on. “That’s quite a story.”

“But that’s not the best part.”

“It isn’t?”

The girl shook her head hard, hair tossing about. “Nope. I ran up to the corner on Adelaide and at the last second saw the girl and the guy getting into a Beck cab. The taxi raced across Spadina and was lost to traffic as the angry guy stood at the end of the alley still looking for her. I thought when I saw him turn around and disappear back into the alley that he was heading to Timmy’s again so I walked back to tell him what I saw.”

“Did you end up telling this angry man what you saw?” Elmore asked, barely able to contain himself.

“No. When I walked back into the shop here, that angry man and his four goons weren’t here. You’re the first person I’ve told. No one else asked me shit.”

Elmore could tell she was pleased with herself. The girl looked young and naive. He wondered how much excitement she got out of life. He almost made the mistake of handing her his photo studio card to invite her to do a few pics. He would have blown his cop cover if he did.

Who was the guy Sarah was with?

“Thank you for your help. Someone will be in touch if we need more.”

Elmore turned away and headed for the door.

“Hey, Mister, what about your coffee?”

Elmore didn’t look back.

Chapter 14

Drake couldn’t believe he was on the run again. Just two weeks ago killers had hunted him. Now it was cops. Or worse than cops. Rod Howley.

How could any government allow one man to possess so much power?

The other thing he couldn’t wrap his head around was that he was on the run with Sarah Roberts.

How the hell did that happen?

Whatever divine fate brought them together, he planned to do whatever he could to keep them together. He was astounded at how beautiful she was. Her confidence, strength, and quick thinking grabbed him from the start. He’d been single too long. Sarah was exactly the kind of woman he could see himself spending a lot of time with.

If only they could get rid of all the people trying to kill them.

After they left the cab, they entered the CN Tower and lined up to purchase tickets to the top. Not being on the street would allow the heat to die down.

No way would that guy Rod find us up in the tower.

After getting their tickets, they entered another line for the elevator. It wasn’t as long and moved well. Once inside the lift, he watched Toronto fall below their feet as the elevator rode the side of the building. A glass wall offered a stunning view as they climbed.

Drake cracked his jaw to pop his ears as they ascended.

“Sarah?” he whispered, leaning close to her. “How did you get that bruise on your wrist?”

She turned toward him. “Rod was keeping me prisoner. He used handcuffs when he kidnapped me off the plane and then placed a tracking device on my wrist for today’s outing. I snapped it off five minutes before meeting you.”

The elevator slowed to a stop. When the door opened and everyone exited, Drake led Sarah out to the circular windows and the two of them looked at Toronto far below. The height was incredible.

After a walk around the tower, Drake led her to the glass floor. He stepped onto it and waited for Sarah to join him.

“I’m not going out there,” she said.

“What? Are you serious? It’s only about three hundred and fifty meters off the ground. The laminated glass is almost three inches thick. You’ll be completely safe.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

He could tell she wanted to, but he also knew some people hated that kind of thing.

“Come on Sarah, I got you. I’ll hold you.”

Drake reached out to her. People came and went around them, minding their own business. One woman a few feet from Sarah also refused her husband’s plea.

Drake lowered his head and stared at Sarah with yearning. It would give him a chance to touch her, to hold her. He knew it was too quick. They had just met. But Sarah exuded a power which drew him in like nothing he’d ever felt.

He moved his fingers to gesture one more time, and Sarah surprised him by stepping onto the glass. He wrapped her in his arms and held tight. He felt her respond and let him hold her even as she shuddered when she looked down.

“Why the hell would anyone step out onto a piece of flimsy glass this high up?” Sarah asked. “Whoever thought of this had to be insane. What would the epitaph read? Lived a full life, stepped on glass and fell to her death. Fucking idiot. You know, Drake, I’m not afraid of heights … it’s the fall that sucks.”

Drake’s cell phone rang.