"What do you mean you can't be here for three hours?" I asked.
"I'm on another assignment check. It's in North Carolina. If you had told me earlier-"
"God, I know I messed up, okay?" I said. "Do you have someone trying to find them?"
"Since they went missing, we've been searching for them."
"And you were just planning on not telling me?"
"You know that that's one of the rules. Along with notifying your handler of shit like this. Damn it, Danielle," he groaned.
"I know, God," I said. I paused before I asked a question. "What happens now?"
"You're going to get transferred. Given the connections Nicolas has, we are seeing if Interpol is willing to work with us."
"He has connections all over the world, how could Interpol help?"
"Just trust us, we have a plan."
"And what about Ash, Ben, and Charlie?" I asked, thinking of Nicolas's threat.
"We will do everything we can…Look I got to go. I'll be there in three hours. Keep the door locked, don't leave, don't let anyone in. Destroy the phone."
"Got it," I said. The line clicked, indicating that he hung up. I knew that I had to destroy the phone to avoid Nicolas tracking me, but I quickly sent a quick text to Penelope.
In exactly 12 hours, give Spencer the video. I'm sorry.
Ensuring it sent, I put the phone on the ground. I grabbed my gun, put a pillow over the phone, and fired. The pillow muffled the sound, and lifting it up, I saw the now destroyed phone. I picked it up and threw it in the toilet. I saw the bullet embedded in the wood floor. I moved the carpet over it, hiding it.
Thank goodness for ground floors.
There was a knock at the door. I peered through the peephole to see it was housekeeping, cart and all.
I cracked open the door.
"Hi, can I help you?"
"There was a noise? We wanted to make sure everything is okay?" the woman said.
"Yes, I just fell and knocked over a few things."
"Okay, so sorry to bother you."
"No worries!" I said, closing the door, locking it tightly. I made my way to the bed, sitting on the edge. And then what I did hit me.
I broke up with him. My first romantic relationship in years, and I just…left him at that coffee shop. I could only hope that the video would give him some relief. I would never see him again. And he would probably hate me, but it was better that than he gets hurt because of me. Although, I suppose, he was hurt because of me, but he had friends and family to get him through it.
Caroline wouldn't be so lucky. I would have to convince Daniel to give her some explanation.
A knock at the door drew my attention. I once again looked through the peep hole to see housekeeping again. Cautiously opening the door, I met the woman's gaze.
"Everything okay?"
"My manager said I have to make sure that nothing is broken."
"Oh, it was my stuff that fell!"
"Sorry, ma'am. He was insistent," she said. Groaning inwardly, I opened the door.
"As you can see, everything is fine," I said. She shot me a look as she walked into the room. I kept my eyes trained on her, my back to the door. She inspected every nook and cranny of the room, thankfully not finding the moved carpet. "So, are we good?"
"Yes, I think we are fine, thank you, Mary," came a voice from behind me. Before I could turn around, I felt the unmistakable sensation of a gun against my back. I let out a soft gasp. "Thank you so much for helping me surprise my fiancée."
"No worries! Enjoy your weekend," she said cheerily. An arm gripping mine moved me out of the way of the woman. He didn't speak but his intentions were evident.
Say anything, and I kill her.
Not willing to let an innocent woman get hurt because of me, I silently watched as she closed the door, smiling brightly at us.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," came the voice behind me. "Someone forgot the rules."
"You work for Nicolas," I said, feeling the gun push harder against my back.
"Way to state the obvious," he said. He turned me to face him. He looked too familiar.
"Who are you?"
"You don't remember me? And here I thought I made quite the impression, what with you threatening to 'destroy any chance of me having kids,' was it?"
"You're from the bar," I said, remembering that night at Barry's Bar with Caroline. "Nicolas has had eyes on me that long?"
"Well, you can ask him that, after all, you'll be seeing him very soon."
"Over my dead body," I said, trying to rip my arm away from him.
"Nicolas has made specific arrangements that you'll be seeing him with your own eyes, alive," he said. "Now here's what's going to happen. You are going to walk with me to my car. You will not make a scene, or your family is dead and so is the entirety of the motel staff. Got it?"
"Yes," I said, knowing that there was no way to get out of this. My gun was in the bathroom and his grip on my arm was far too strong. I had to wait and save energy until I could escape.
"Let's go, fiancée," he said, pushing me forward. He had me in front of him, gun still to my back. To anyone who saw us, he looked like my significant other, holding me as we walked. We didn't garner any unwanted attention. "Get in the car." He pushed me towards the car, his grip gone. "If you run, they die." He gestured to a family getting out of their car.
He had a gun, and wouldn't hesitate to shoot them. I decided to get in the car, without complaint. He got in the front seat, starting the car.
"Now," he said, grabbing something from the backseat, "Night-night." With rapid agility, he stabbed me in the neck with a needle.
I yelped, my hand coming up to meet the injection site.
"Are you kidding me?" I asked, grimacing at the pain.
"Rest up," he said, "you're going to need it."
The world began to blur and sway, and before I knew it, I had given into sleep. The last thing I thought before I was enveloped in darkness was if Nicolas didn't kill me, Daniel absolutely would.