Page 34 of Possessed By Roman

I am sitting alone in the living room with my laptop open in front of me, supposedly studying, while Roman is somewhere down the hall in his bedroom talking to Royal and River. I can hear the faint murmur of his voice down the wall, but I can’t make out what he is saying.

My phone buzzes again. I look down.

Unknown Number: Watch the video.

My heart begins to pound. Attached beneath the message is a video. For several seconds, I stare at it. Every instinct tells me not to. I glance toward the door before looking back at my phone. Then, despite knowing better, I press play.

The screen immediately fills with a dark, shaky image. It takes me a second to understand what I’m seeing. Then my breath catches.

“Dad.”

He is sitting in a chair. His hands appear to be tied behind his back, and something is covering his mouth, but I recognize him immediately. His hair is messy, his face pale and bruised, and even through the grainy video, I can see the exhaustion in his eyes. His clothes are rumpled and dirty.

He is alive. Relief hits me so hard that I almost cry. Then I notice what is on his lap. Today’s newspaper. My stomach drops. The video was taken today. Before I can process anything else, the image shifts, and a distorted voice fills the room.

“We have your father. If you want him released alive, you will bring us the drive containing Daniel Ryke’s evidence.”

My heart pounds so loudly that I can barely hear anything else. “You will come alone. You will not contact the police. You will not tell Roman Taylor or any of his friends.”

My blood runs cold. They know where I am. The voice continues. “Bring the drive to the park. You know the location. Go to the secluded area at the back and enter the tunnel Wait there for further instructions. If you bring anyone with you or alert the police, your father dies.”

The video ends. For several seconds, I don’t move. I simply stare at the black screen. Then my father’s face flashes through my mind again. He is alive. And they are willing to let him go if I give them the drive. I know what Roman would say. It’s a trap.

Yet, I make up my mind instantly. My hands shake as I stand. Roman’s voice is still coming from his bedroom. He is distracted. This is my chance. The thought makes me feel sick. I don’t want to lie to him. I don’t want to sneak around him.

But I already know he will never agree to let me go. Roman has spent the last week trying to keep me safe, and there is absolutely no chance he will hand me a drive and send me into a park alone to meet the people who kidnapped my father.

So I decide before I can talk myself out of it. I walk quietly toward his office. My heart pounds with every step, and guilt twists inside me as I reach for the door handle. I enter the office and close the door behind me.

The drive isn’t difficult to find. I know where Roman has been keeping it because I saw him put it there after Royal returned it. My hands shake as I pick it up.

I use my phone to order a ride before setting it on the couch. I leave the office, grab my purse, and quietly make my way toward the front door.

I open the door, slip outside, and close it behind me.

***

The rideshare feels like the longest drive of my life. I spend the entire trip staring out of the window, gripping my purse so tightly that my fingers begin to ache. The flash drive is inside, and every few minutes, I check to make sure it is still there.

When we reach the park, I get out of the car and watch the vehicle disappear before turning toward the entrance. The park looks ordinary. People walk along the paths. A couple sits on a bench. Someone is jogging in the distance. Nothing about it looks dangerous.

That somehow makes me even more nervous. The instructions tell me to go to the back of the park and enter the tunnel. So, I head toward the back of the park. The farther I go, the quieter the park becomes.

The sounds of people begin to fade, and by the time I reach the secluded area, there are fewer people around. Then I see the tunnel. It isn’t long. Just a short passage running beneath part of the path. I step inside.

The tunnel is darker than I expected. After a few seconds of waiting, I hear something behind me. I spin around. A man is standing at the other end of the tunnel. I can’t see his face clearly. He has positioned himself where the shadows hide most of his features, but the gun in his hand is impossible to miss.

My body goes cold.

“Give me the drive.”

My mouth goes dry. “Where’s my father?”

“Drive.”

“You said you would let him go.”

He takes a step closer. “And you believed that?”