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Chapter 26 – Trust is a four-letter word.

Ella couldn't wait any longer she eased herself off the makeshift bed and knocked on the door. She waited and then banged again.
She heard the key in the lock and then the door swung slowly open. She stepped backwards.
"I'm sorry Gardy." She said to him an apologetic smile on her face. "But I really need to use the bathroom."
He blinked slowly as if he hadn't thought of her needs.
"Ok." He grumbled slowly.
It was obvious she had woken him up she thought, and wondered how she could use this to her advantage.
He led her through a maze of boxes and to the toilets. She held up her hands in mute appeal.
"I promise I won't run but I'm wearing Jeans Gardy and I can't do the zipper with my hands tied." She pointed out.
She half wished she hadn't when his eyes travelled downward and on to her legs. She felt like she needed to take a shower just to wash off his look and only just managed to control a shudder of distaste when he stepped closer to her. She smelled his stench of stale sweat and whisky and swallowed the automatic gag reflex.
He undid the ropes at her wrists and she stepped into the toilets. He made to follow her but she turned and stood looking at him.
"Please." She asked softly.
He took a step back and she went inside and closed the door. She looked quickly around and knew why he' had brought her here. There were no outside windows; she couldn't escape even if she wanted to. She grimaced.
She used the toilet and then washed up in the sink. She stripped off her t shirt and sluiced water over her to freshen up, needing the delay until she saw him again and just wanting to be clean. The mirror was cracked and she thought with a bit of time she might be able to get a piece of glass from it. She jiggled it experimentally and felt it give.
"Hurry up!" he ordered and she saw the door handle twist in the reflection she grabbed her t shirt pulling it quickly over her head and turned walking quickly to the door.
"I'm done." She told him. She held out her hands and let him tie her up again.
He led her back to the room.
"I'm hungry." She said. "And I could really do with a drink." She added.
He sighed.
"I don't have any food here." He confessed.
"I suppose ordering a pizza wouldn't be a good idea." She mused with a sardonic grin. Imagining the conversation. 'I would like a double cheese and a pepperoni with no olives. Oh and my kidnap victim said she wants pineapple on hers. Can we get those without the armed response team from the police but we still want the free sodas.'
He looked at her and smiled.
"I suppose you'd like to hear me order pizza so that you know exactly where you are and can tell the delivery guy you need help." he muttered, the creepy tick back near his eye.
"Actually I live on pizza. I can't cook." She confessed with a slow smile, in a calm tone of voice. She lowered her head and made it look as though his suggestion that she would try to get help had upset her.
He sighed and pushed toward the chair she had sat on last night.
"Sit there." He ordered.
She waited patiently until he handed her a bottle of water he took from his bag nearby. She had looked over and saw that he had a gun in the bag too, she couldn't tell what make it was. She tried to tell herself it wasn't important but knew that some weapons took 14 rounds in the clip while others just had the standard 9 clip. She might need to know how many bullets he could fire if she were to make a break for it.
She took a long swallow of the water and tried to think of something she could do to persuade him to let her go.
"Thank you." She said to him. "I have a problem." She added.
His head flashed up.
"What now?" he asked the tick back again.
"Well I'm feeding the babies and I've missed three feedings." She said.
"They can have bottles." He said.
"Yes I know that but I'm still producing milk." She said softly and waited for his glance to focus on her breasts. She swallowed feeling dirty as he looked at her.
His eyes met hers.
"It hurts." She told him. "And if I don't express it then I will get an infection."
"Are you lying?" he asked quietly. "Is this just a trick?"
She looked him straight in the eyes.
She held up her hands, in a supplicant pose.
"No. I need to feed the babies." She told him.
He reached forward and pulled her up from the chair pressing her close to his body and kissed her long and hard. She forced herself not to react and punch him or raise her leg and knee him somewhere.
He let her go suddenly.
"Fine. I will take you to the hospital to feed your babies." He acquiesced.
He dragged her back into the room and made to shut the door.
"Can I have the water bottle please?" she asked before he could close it.
He turned around and passed the water bottle to her.
She smiled at him.
"Thank you Gardy." She said to him
He pushed the door closed and she heard the key turn in the lock.

Nic walked back through to the kitchen. She looked over at her father.
"That was Aden." She told him and saw a flicker of something cross her fathers features. "He said that the babies have been crying non-stop and won't accept the bottle formula."
Her Dad stood up from the table and walked over to the sink.
"What does he expect me to do about it?" Roman asked her coldly.
Nic looked about to say something when Miles motioned for her to stay silent.
"Well you could acknowledge them." Miles said to him.
"Why? I had no say in their birth." He turned and looked at Miles. "I wouldn't have let her go through with the pregnancy not at the risk of her health." He muttered, tapping into the anger he had held inside since learning of the children's existence.
"Well tough. Because you had sex with her and she got pregnant. She would have left you, sooner than allow you to bully her into something she didn't agree with." Miles said to him, his tone still calm and even.
Nic had to put her hand over her mouth to stop her from commenting.
"I mean if that is truly what you think Roman then don't even bother trying to get her back from Gardy, she'll be better off with him." Miles added.
Roman clenched the stainless steel surround of the sink and took a deep breath. The pit of anger that rested in his stomach swirled and grew.
"In fact if you were so dead against having children why didn't you do something about it yourself?" Miles asked him.
Jacko and Nic looked over at Miles but he motioned for them to keep quiet.
"You could have gone and had a vasectomy without even telling her. I mean her being pregnant and not telling you breaks that kind of trust doesn't it?" Miles said to him. "So why bother trying to get her back from Gardy? It's not like your relationship is worth anything. She lied to you."
Roman turned and looked at him, his expression dead and his eyes cold. All he felt was anger.
"She should have told me." He said eventually.
"Why? What did she owe you? You went off and left her" Miles pointed out softly.
"She was my wife I had the right to know what was going on." He said. "Gardy should never have got close to her." His voice was cold.
"But he did. You weren't here Roman and she nearly died. She gave birth to your babies alone." Miles said.
Roman looked at him.
"I should have been here. I should have stopped him. I should have killed him years ago." He said in a quiet voice the guilt of not being there for her overwhelming.
"But you didn't and you left her. Pregnant and alone." Miles took a breath and watched as Roman crumpled to the floor in front of them.
Nic gasped and stood in a kind of shock as Miles moved quickly and went over to the other man.
"I hate you Miles." Roman said when he was able to look up again.
"Yes I know." Miles grinned. "Come on you're scaring the children." He helped Roman to stand.
"Stop trying to be a hero Roman, this is your wife. The mother of your children. I'm sure we'll all feel better if you show you are human and not some Robot." Miles told him. "It doesn't mean that you can't play hero later on, we kind of expect that from you anyway"
Roman looked at him and embraced him quickly.
"Dad, let me take you to see the children. El would want you to see them you know that." Nic said to him.
Roman nodded.
"Jacko and I will stay here." Miles said. "He can tell me some more stories about you." He added with a grin.
Roman nodded tiredly letting Nic lead him out to the car.
Jacko looked over at Miles.
"How did you know?" he asked him.
"I didn't, not for sure but he was too controlled. When he spoke and ate it was starting to get mechanical."
"Yeah I've seen that before a time or two before a mission when I knew he was thinking about things too deeply." Jacko nodded.
"He's a sniper isn't he?" Miles asked out of nowhere.
Jacko looked over at him.
"How did you know?" he asked.
Miles stood again and cleared part of the table.
"Because he once mentioned that he was a murderer and I put it down to what had happened at first but I've seen flashes in his eyes sometimes as a memory hits him."
Miles confessed.
Jacko drained his coffee and he too stood up.
"Snipers are a different animal." Was all he said.
Miles nodded again.
"Why don't you leave this with me and you go and get some rest. And possibly a shower?" Miles suggested.
"Yeah I could do with it." Jacko said with a grin. "Only problem is I don't have anything to change into. We left in a rush! And Roman's clothes ain't exactly my size!"
"I'll have Jai bring over some clothes of mine, they should fit you." Miles told him.
"Thanks." Jacko said with a grin.
"Mike's room is the last door on the end." Miles called as Jacko moved to the stairs.

The key turned in the lock and the door swung open slowly with an audible creak.
"Ella." Gardy called.
She looked up from the mattress and pretended that she had been asleep. Instead of practising her self defence moves.
"Yes." She said softly.
"Come here." He instructed.
She looked at his face as she scrambled to her feet.
"Ok." She said and walked over to him.
"Take off your top." He told her.
She looked once again at his face.
"Do as I say." He said angrily.
She made herself flinch as though she was scared.
"It's ok Ella," he said pacifying her.
She held up her hands and he undid the ropes. He rubbed her wrists as he did so and she trembled.
"It's ok." He said again.
She reached down and pealed off the t shirt revealing the cream lace bra underneath. She hadn't had a chance to buy maternity bras and knew that she no longer fitted the cups on this one. She hoped that he wouldn't touch her because she knew she would be sick if he did.
He reached for a belt and placed it around her waist.
"You'll have 45 minutes. " he told her.
She looked down and her eyes went wide as she saw the bomb he'd strapped to her. "It's wired so I'll be able to hear everything you say. And it has a pressure switch so don't even think of removing it."
She nodded, feeling fear rise up in her.
"If you say anything I don't like I will press this button." He showed her the detonator.
"Do you understand?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Yes I understand." She told him looking into his eyes." Thank you." She added.
He nodded slowly.
"As soon as we get to the hospital I will set the timer." He said.
She pulled the top back on and he led her to the car. She stood near the rear of the car and watched as he opened the trunk and she climbed in meekly.
She waited until he started the car and began counting until he turned the car. She counted again until the next turn of the car. Memorising the numbers and directions.
Eventually they pulled up at the rear of the hospital and the car stopped. He helped her out of the car and started the timer on the bomb.
"Remember 45 minutes." He told her.
She nodded and walked quickly inside the hospital. She made her way to the maternity unit, her legs shaking. She wanted to run but knew he would detonate the bomb.
"Hello." One of the nurses called out to her. "We were a bit worried when you missed the last feeding."
Ella nodded.
"Sorry I just ended up going to bed and sleeping." She explained.
"Probably best to get as much as you can before you take them home" she said to her.
Ella nodded and smiled before she walked into the room where the babies were and weak tears fell down her face. She cradled Georgie to her and felt her milk start immediately.
"You are a hungry one aren't you!" she cooed.
She moved into a side room and removed the T-shirt so she could nurse him. She felt the relief as he fed from her. She changed his nappy after and cuddled him checking her watch as she did so. Already 14 minutes had gone by. She pulled on the T-shirt and took him back to his crib. She picked up the chart that was on Sophie's incubator and wrote on it, knowing that Aden would see it and pass it on to Roman. He would figure out what it meant.
She walked back into the side room and picked up the pump to express as much milk as possible looking anxiously at her watch.
Another 7 minutes went past.
She handed over the milk to the nurse with a tight smile and began walking out.
The elevator opened and she went to step into it when she looked up and saw Nic and Roman.
She heard Nic's gasp and raised her finger to her lips.
Roman immediately clamped a hand over his daughter's mouth and nodded. He followed Ella into the side room and she lifted the T-shirt to reveal the strapped bomb on her. He also saw the microphone and nodded at her.
"I'm ok." She mouthed at him. "He hasn't done anything."
He nodded again.
She caught hold of his hand and pressed her lips to it.
"Sophie." She mouthed to him, watching as he read her lips. "Come and get me." She smiled sadly and looked at the timer. Seven minutes left.
She kissed him softly and turned to leave.
She turned in the door and looked over at him one last time.
"I love you." She mouthed and he did the same.
She ran to the elevators and pressed the button feeling time slip away. When it arrived she climbed into it looking through the doors over at Roman.
He mouthed the words she would have given anything to hear out loud.
"I will find you."
The doors slid shut.
"Dad." Nic said uncertainly.
"It had a pressure switch and there was no way I could have disarmed it in the time we had left." He told her.
She moved closer to him and he put his arms around her.
"Its ok Nic, she left us a clue. Show me Sophie." He pressed a kiss to her temple.
He looked over at his other daughter for the first time and could have wept. She was so small and struggling so much.
He lifted up the chart and saw Ella's handwriting on there.
"What does it mean Dad?" Nic asked.
"They are directions." He explained. He took the paper and folded it up he put it in his pocket before he placed his hand into the incubator to touch Sophie's fingers. She caught his finger and held tight as she kicked her legs up.
Nic placed her hand on her Dad's arm and he looked over at her.
"No Nic, you were never this small and you used to reach for our wallets not our fingers." He told her with a grin.
"Oi!" she exclaimed.
"Actually I'm serious. When you were teething you would chew on a credit card! Was the only thing that stopped you screaming." He grinned down at her. "Now where is my son?" he asked.
He walked over to the crib that Nic indicated and picked his son up for his first cuddle with his father.
"Hey." He said to him feeling overwhelmed.
Nic felt herself tearing up again and looked down at Angel, fast asleep in her car seat. She sighed. It wouldn't be right to wake her up so she could have a cuddle.
She turned at the door opened and Aden chose that moment to walk in. She launched herself at him and sobbed her heart out.
"I had a dream about a glamorous woman throwing herself at me once. Strangely it was nothing like this." He whispered to Nic.
She looked up.
"I'm glamorous?" she asked.
"Apart from the red nose and the panda eyes, you are a Princess." He told her with a flash of his famous smirk. It had the desired effect and she stopped crying.
"I got told that Ella was here." He said.
"She had to leave." Roman said softly, watching as Georgie slowly went to sleep. He pressed a kiss to his son's head and lay him in his crib.
They walked out of the nursery and into the side room.
"She had a bomb strapped to her." Nic told him quickly.
Aden nodded.
"She left us directions of where she is being held." Roman told him. "I need to get these back to Jacko so we can figure them out." He said to Nic.
"I'm presuming its not Google Earth Map with the words I am here on them." Aden said.
Roman chuckled.
"I wish it was." He said. "El isn't that good with directions." He told them. "Nic drop me off at home." He said softly.
She nodded and before they left she pressed a kiss to Aden's cheek.
"Thanks Bro!" she said.
"Anytime Princess." He chuckled.
They walked out of the room and Aden watched them leave before walking in to see Ella's babies.