Ch. 26
Killian was in the kitchen waiting for Emma to call and let him know she was there. He was ready to continue the investigation and she should have been home quickly. He checked the time on his phone again, this time he decided to call her, she should have returned by now. When he got no answer, he became worried. He was just about to call her again when his phone rang. He quickly answered, "Emma, everything ok?" he asked.
Initially he heard silence. "Uh, don't tell me she hasn't come back yet?" asked David.
Killian hung his head and sighed. "Dave, I thought you were Emma. No, she's not back yet. She should have been here by now." He said.
"Are you going to check it out?" asked David.
"Yeah, I think I have to. It's not like her to keep me waiting without sending word." He said.
Suddenly sirens began to sound in the phone. "Looks like we have an emergency. "said David.
"Go, Go, call me if you need me. I'm going to go to the Tavern to look for Emma." He said.
"Alright, let me know if you find her." Said David.
Killian heard the firefighters in the background preparing. He wished he could be with his brothers and sisters to fight whatever demon they were going to meet but he had to find Emma. He knew in his gut something was wrong. He gave himself a quick once over to make sure he was ready for battle and grabbed the keys to his truck.
He was about to enter the elevator when Nairobi and Greta appeared. He nodded in greeting while waiting for them to exit. "Killian, is Emma here? We'd like to thank you both once again for everything you did for my cousin and her friend." Said Nairobi.
Killian shook his head. "Ah, no. I was just about to head out. But believe me, no thanks are necessary. We are both just relieved the girls are ok. I know Emma is determined to find out who is behind it." Said Killian.
"Cobra Bubbles guarded their room during their stay at the hospital. The girls were a little tired and hungry but no harm had come to them." Said Greta.
"I wouldn't say no harm, they were both extremely scared." Said Nairobi.
Killian nodded, feeling the sense of urgency to leave. "I'm glad they are both well. Have they gone home now?" he asked.
"Yes, they are at Mr. LaBouff's home being doted upon. Both Aunties are staying with them for now." Said Nairobi.
"Well, they had to make one stop first. Lottie made sure that her father stopped by the police station to get them to let that boy Al go. She made a big fuss about it. Apparently, she'd been seeing him secretly for a few months and doesn't believe he could have had anything to do with their kidnapping." Said Greta.
"I heard that girl Jazzy talking to the police, she was begging them to protect her and help her if she told them what she knew." Said Nairobi.
"Did she mention anything about the Scots being involved? Do they still have Seamus locked up?" asked Killian.
"I know that they have Seamus still in lock up. The DA has a good case against him and since he skipped bail, he isn't going anywhere." Said Nairobi.
"I heard her mention the Scots, she was speaking loudly at first trying to convince them and then softly, but I could swear she mentioned that a woman was involved." Said Greta.
Killian blinked and focused on her. "A woman? Jazzy's partner was a woman?" he asked.
Greta nodded. "Yes, I think so. I could barely hear her but I do believe that is what she said. Someone that she is extremely frightened about." She said.
Killian closed his eyes and took a breath. He really had to go now. There was a serpent out there waiting to strike on them and Emma might have just gone into their nest. "Thank you, ladies, I'm sorry. I have to go. "he said.
"Killian, is everything alright?" asked Nairobi with a concerned look on her face.
He nodded curtly. "Aye, I'm just late." He said with a liar's grin spread across his face while stepping into the waiting elevator.
"Ok, we'll see you later." Said Greta.
He watched as both women moved away from the elevator doors before frantically pushing the lobby button. He had to find Emma, maybe she was just running behind but he had a bad feeling about this. He hoped he was wrong.
Emma began to come to with a burning pain at the back of her head. She felt the back of her head and came away with a wet bloody palm. "Damn it." She said feeling angry she let them get the drop on her. She also felt really cold. She began to survey the little room and realized she was in a big walk in refrigerator. She assumed she was still in the tavern kitchen. She quickly felt her pocket hopeful to find her phone. No such luck with that. She felt her holster, no gun either. She quickly checked her boot and smiled. "They didn't get you little guy." She said smiling. She was about to stand and check the door when she saw the feet once again peeking out from behind a stack of vegetable crates. She rushed back and saw it was Katie lying on the ground near her. She quickly moved to check on her. She bent down to the girl hopeful that she was merely sleeping. She checked her neck for a pulse and she was still alive. "Katie, Katie. "she said shaking the girl.
Katie started to come around. "Wh-Where am I? It's so cold in here." she said fluttering her eyes.
"Do you remember me?" asked Emma.
The girl nodded. "Yes Emma, you were looking for Tiana and Lottie." Said Katie sitting up from her position on the floor.
Emma nodded. "Yes, are you hurt?" she asked.
Katie felt her cheek. "My face hurts." She said.
Emma looked closely at her face, she appeared to have been hit with something. She touched her cheek gently. "Ouch." Said Katie retreating from her.
"Do you remember who did this to you?" she asked sitting back on her heels.
Katie sighed. "It was Angus. He's friends with Bo's son Seamus. I guess he's part of his crew or something." Said Katie.
"Why did he hit you?" she asked.
"I overheard him arguing with Bo in the kitchen." Said Katie.
"What were they arguing about? I'm guessing they weren't expecting you to be there." asked Emma.
"Well, I wasn't supposed to be at the tavern, because of the renovations. Bo had given us two weeks pay and we were told to stay away. I realized I'd left my chemistry book in my locker at work last night and I had to go get it. I walked in and overheard Bo arguing with Angus about the girls being found because that wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to knock Jazzy out and put her in a locked container like the others but he didn't do it. She accused him of being sweet on her and chastised him because his mistake was the reason they were found. Now they had to scramble to cover up his mistake. He was ruining all her plans. I'd heard enough to call the police. I went to run away but I accidentally knocked over a hammer that was left on the table next to me. Angus heard the crashing sound and came running. Angus had a gun and forced me into the kitchen out of sight. Bo grabbed the gun from him and smacked me across the face with it. That's the last thing I remember before passing out." She said.
Emma let out a long breath. "Sounds like you and I both, walked into something we weren't supposed to today." She said as she stood brushing off her hands.
Katie tried to sit up but she was still feeling dizzy. "Where are we?" asked the poor girl.
"I think we are in the refrigerator." Said Emma.
"Oh no! if we are in the refrigerator, we aren't going to be able to get out without someone coming to get us. The handle inside is broken." Whined Katie.
Emma quickly went to the door to try the handle herself. She pulled and pulled; it would not click open. She kicked the door in frustration. "Damn it!" she exclaimed before peering out the cloudy window to see if anyone was there and to confirm that they were in the tavern kitchen. She stood on her tip toes to get a better look. It appeared that the kitchen was empty and the lights were dim so she couldn't tell what time of day it was. She pulled on the door handle again a few times for good measure.
"It won't help. Lee, the prep guy who comes in early in the morning got stuck in here once for three hours. He had to wait until the breakfast shift got here to let him out. Bo was supposed to get this fixed. I guess she never did." Said Katie.
Emma shook her head. Bo is definitely not the person she thought she was. She was angry at herself for being caught and also being duped by the evil queen. That woman probably ran the whole Scottish mob. She was not going to let her win. She tipped up to look out the window again. Maybe she could shoot their way out, not like the carrots or the leg of lamb were going to help them. This time she saw a flickering light near the opening to the kitchen and what appeared to be smoke starting to swirl in the air. A sudden panic hit her gut when she realized that the place was on fire and they were trapped. She turned to face Katie and tried to hide the despair on her face.
"What is it Emma?" she asked.
Emma licked her lips and tried to figure out how she was going to tell her. She hung her head and wished she'd have waiting for Killian this morning. She knew he would come, he just had to.