Part four

30.

“YOUR FATHER IS A LOUSY CREEP”

A long sigh escaped my throat. Brendan placed a steadying hand on my shoulder. His hand was damp and ice cold. “A … kidnapping?” he choked out. “You’re kidnapping Rachel and me?”

“Just you,” Blue Eyes said. “You’re Oliver Fear’s kid. You’re the one, buddy. Too bad your girlfriend here got involved.”

“What are we going to do with her?” Chubby Guy said, swinging his rifle from one hand to the other. “She wasn’t in the plan.”

“No worries,” his partner said. “She’ll help us.”

I’ll help them?

I thought about the kids in the basement. I wondered what they were doing down there. Maybe they found a hidden door or a window … a way to escape. But even if they did … I knew there was no way for them to get help from town. And no way to escape the island.

“Get the rope. We have to tie them up,” Blue Eyes ordered his partner. “We’re going to have a long wait. We don’t want you to think maybe you could make a run for it.”

“There’s nowhere to run,” Brendan said softly. He still had his hand on my shoulder. I moved it down, squeezed his hand, and held it.

“Just tell me what this is about,” Brendan said.

The two men exchanged glances. “It’s about a million dollars,” Blue Eyes said. They both snickered again.

“That’s what your father, the great Oliver Fear, will pay to have you back safe and sound.”

“So your plan—” Brendan started.

“I’ve been planning this a long time!” Blue Eyes screamed. He swung a fist in front of Brendan. “Ever since Oliver Fear ruined my life.”

“Easy,” his partner said, scratching the top of his head through the thick wool mask. “You don’t owe the kid any explanation.”

“Your father is a lousy creep!” Blue Eyes cried. He grabbed the front of Brendan’s sweatshirt in both hands. “He fired me. Let me go for no good reason.”

Breathing hard, he shook Brendan. Finally, he dropped his hands and took a step back.

“You worked for my father?” Brendan asked, straightening his sweatshirt.

“Accounting irregularities. That’s what he said. He said I was a crook. He said he was being a nice guy not having me arrested and sent to prison. Nice guy. Ha!” He spit on the floor, just missing Brendan’s sneakers.

“Okay. I made some mistakes. That’s all they were. Just mistakes. People make mistakes, don’t they? Don’t they?” His voice rose. His chest was heaving up and down. I could see he was about to lose it.

“Easy, dude,” his partner said softly. “You told them enough. Let’s get them tied up.”

But Blue Eyes wasn’t finished. “I made a few mistakes. That was no reason to ruin my life. Ruin my reputation. Ruin my family. Ruin everything I’d worked hard to do.”

Without warning, he slammed the rifle butt into Brendan’s midsection again.

Brendan doubled over and whimpered in pain. “Please…” he gasped. “My ribs. I think you broke my ribs.”

“I’ll do worse than that,” the masked man screamed. “I’ll cut your head off if your father doesn’t come through with my money. I’ll cut your heart out, you punk!”

“Easy, dude,” his partner repeated. “Don’t lose it now. I know how you feel, but … we got a long time to wait here.”

“Your father will pay big-time to get your butt safe and sound off the island. We’re keeping you here till he forks over a million.” He turned to me. “Too bad you got involved, Rachel,” he said.

“Hey!” I cried. “How do you know my name?”

He’s so familiar. I know I know him. It’s just … I’m in a panic. I’m so scared, my brain isn’t working.

“Too bad for you, Rachel,” he repeated. “But having you here, will just make Oliver Fear want to pay up faster.” He moved the rifle. “You know. Avoid any tragedies.” He stuck his face up close to mine. I could smell coffee on his breath. “We don’t want any tragedies—do we?”

“N-no,” I stammered. I squeezed Brendan’s hand. A cold wave of panic swept down my whole body.

“We’ll tie them to those chairs,” Blue Eyes said, motioning to a couple of folding chairs against the wall. “Then we’ll just sit and wait for our money.”

Brendan narrowed his eyes at the masked man. “You already told my father you were holding us here?”

“That’s not your business, kid. Want to ask another question and see how easy I can break a few more ribs?”

Brendan lowered his head. He didn’t reply.

The chubby gunman leaned his gun against the wall and disappeared into the hall. Brendan and I stood in silence, avoiding each other’s eyes. I found myself thinking of my sister, Beth. I don’t know why she popped into my mind. I thought of how she was the scared one and I was the brave one. I didn’t feel very brave now.

I raised my eyes to the rifle in the man’s hand and wondered if I’d ever see Beth again. The gunman returned with two lengths of rope around one arm.

A stab of fear ran down my whole body. What does he plan to do with the ropes?

I poked Brendan in the shoulder and motioned to the blue-eyed one. “Does he look familiar?” I whispered.

Brendan shot me a questioning look. He shook his head no.

“Sit down in these chairs and put your hands behind you,” the chubby one ordered. He dropped one of the ropes to the floor and began to uncoil the other one.

My legs were trembling so hard, I nearly missed the chair. I dropped down hard and struggled to keep my balance. My heart thudded against my chest. I’d never fainted in my life, but I thought it might happen now.

Brendan stood beside the chair next to mine. The gunman motioned him to sit down.

“Hands behind your back,” he barked at me.

I clasped my hands together behind me. Even holding them tightly like that, I couldn’t stop them from shaking.

The gunman bent behind me and started to wrap the thick rope around my wrists. The rope felt scratchy. He pulled it tight. Then suddenly, he stopped.

I heard a cry and raised my eyes to the open door of the room.

Someone came bursting in, running full speed.

It took a few seconds for my eyes to focus on him. And then I screamed: “Mac! No! Get away from here! Mac—don’t come in! Get away! Get away! Go get help!”

31.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20