Page 44 of Rescuing Erin

“Time’s up? It’s been twenty-four hours?”

Colin twitched his arm, reminding me to be quiet.

“Nope. I knew it would only take a few hours. He won’t hand the documents off to the courier until he sees your precious face one more time. Up you go.”

Shit! I didn’t want to go anywhere without Colin but I didn’t want to draw attention to him.

“All right.” I stood on wobbly legs and tried to get my bearings.

“You, too, asshole. This is gonna be fun.”

Colin groaned but made no attempt to move. He was hurt but he’d been able to talk just fine before I’d fallen asleep.

“Get him up,” the man I believed was Warren said to the two men behind him.

Yes, this had to be Warren. He not so nicely grabbed me by my bicep and tightened his grip until I came up on my toes. “You’re going to be a good girl, right? Sit in front of the camera and smile big for daddy. I’m warning you, one wrong word and Colin will watch you bleed.”

“Yes. I’ll be quiet.” Those were the words I’d spoken, but in my mind I was telling him to screw off and die a slow, painful death. The spineless bastard still hadn’t taken his black mask off.

The two men hauled Colin to his feet. They’d unchained him from the wall, but he was still cuffed. Now that we were in the brightly lit room with the computer and chair again, I could see the bruising on Colin’s face. I pinched my lips together and did my best to stop the tears from falling. He was right, if they knew how much I loved him, they’d go harder on him. I had to stay quiet, for him.

I wasn’t tied to the chair this time. Warren simply shoved me down to sit and opened the laptop. I looked over my shoulder in time to see Colin’s hands being chained above his head. His eyes were mostly closed, and he was being extremely compliant. Was it possible he was hurt more than I’d thought? I tried to think of different ways I could negotiate Colin’s release, but I’d promised not to give away our secret. Anything I said would only make things worse. I remembered the man holding us had been the director of the CIA, he wasn’t a stupid man. So instead of begging for the man I loved to be spared, I remained silent, sitting and staring at a blank screen like a coward, doing nothing to save myself or Colin. I didn’t know how much more I could take. How much further they could push me before I broke and begged them not to hurt Colin any more than they already had.

“You don’t have to say a word. Just sit here and keep your mouth shut. Once your dad hands the documents off, you’ll be free to go,” Warren told me.

I nodded my false agreement, saying nothing, hating him with all my being, and wishing he’d rot in hell. I’d never thought I was capable of taking a life. But right here, right now, I knew I was. If I had the chance, I’d kill the man in front of me. The disgust I felt for him far outweighed any sense of morality I’d once had. Within the span of a few seconds, I understood how and why Colin did the job he did. How easy it would be to kill a man as vile as Warren and feel no remorse.

Warren stepped away, and another man dressed in all black hit a few keys on the computer. Once the camera was turned on, he stood by my side.

My father’s angry face filled the monitor, and I was taken aback. I’d seen my dad mad before, or I thought I had, but I’d never seen look this angry. I felt like I hadn’t seen him in years instead of weeks. I desperately wanted to tell him how sorry I was for the way I’d acted over the last year. All the arguments we’d gotten into over what I thought was him being overprotective. It seemed he’d had a good reason to worry.

“Where’s the reinstatement?” the man asked from beside me.

My dad held up a slip of paper, the presidential seal easy to see and my father’s scrolling signature at the bottom, but I couldn’t make out what the body of the document said. My father hadn’t taken his eyes off me. They didn’t drift over my shoulder where I knew Colin was chained up. He didn’t look around the room at the two other men dressed in black. He simply gazed at me, his features were hard, and his expression was cold. A look I’d never seen on the man who’d tucked me in at night and read me stories. The gentle dad who’d taught me to ride a bike and hugged me tightly when I fell. I didn’t know the man staring back at me.

“Erin, I want you to get on your knees and pray God forgives me for what I’ve done.”

What? My dad was not a religious man. He believed in a higher power and was spiritual but he’d never requested prayer before.

“Okay, Daddy.” The tears I’d been holding back fell, and I couldn’t help but to speak even though I’d been instructed not to. “I’m so sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart. You just do as I say and kneel in prayer.”

“Enough already with the praying bullshit!” the man beside me shouted. “We get it. There’s a stain on your sanctimonious soul. We’ll call you in an hour and tell you where you can retrieve your daughter.”

He slammed the lid on the laptop closed and then picked it up, smashing it on the cement floor. Shards of computer parts scattered across the room. “How long until it’s up and running?” the man asked Warren.

“Everything’s in place. Should be just a matter of minutes once the SAP order reaches the NSA. Angel will be back online immediately.”

“Good. My team will take the girl to the drop and leave you here to take care of your business. We’re even now, Warren, no more favors.”

“Favor? Is that what you call this? I did what your boss was too much of a pansy-assed coward to do. Tom Anderson has two weaknesses. His wife and his pretty little daughter. He was never going to cave with stupid pictures and handwritten threats being sent to him. Do you know how many threats come in daily? Hundreds. No one takes them seriously. There are thousands and thousands of pictures of both Erin and Clarissa Anderson floating around the FBI. Every crazy person with a cell phone takes a picture of one of them and threatens any manner of the most psychotic shit you could imagine. This was no favor. Your boss owes me for this. Me taking out one of Zane’s operatives is a bonus. One less asshole to hunt you down. I’ll be in touch, and I fully expect to be compensated.”

I hoped Colin was conscious and paying attention to what Warren was saying. Maybe there was something valuable in what he said. My mind had spiraled as soon as he’d mentioned there were thousands of threats against me and my mom. No one had told me that. I mean, I knew people threatened politicians and their families, I wasn’t that stupid. But no one explained that people took pictures of me and threatened me every day. Did my mom know? Did my dad? Or was this one of the things his people took care of so he could concentrate on running the country? What the hell?

Warren and the other man continued to bicker back and forth when Colin’s movement caught my eye. He’d reached up and was holding onto the chain holding his arms above his head. I was pretty sure earlier he’d let his hands dangle loosely. His eyes were also opened a little wider, and he was watching the three men in the room carefully. Warren and one man stood next to me, and the third was still by his side.

The room suddenly shook so violently ceiling tiles started to fall. Fight, flight, or freeze. I’d heard the saying before, however, never had I experienced it. I froze in place and watched with fascination as Colin swung his legs and brought them around the man’s neck. With a jerk of his thighs, the man’s neck snapped with an audible crack. The other two men rushed Colin, and I remembered my dad’s plea, get on your knees and pray, suddenly his words made sense. He knew help was here.