“Screw it,” I said.
I picked up the phone. “Hey,” I said.
But the voice that answered was not Marla’s.
“Hello, Libby.” The voice was deep and strong, a man’s voice. It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t have placed it, although it obviously belonged to one of the Scarlucci’s goons.
“Wrong number,” I said. I started to end the call.
“DON’T HANG UP OR MARLA DIES!”
The voice was loud, vibrating my phone as I started to disconnect the line.
What…? What did they say?
My hands were now shaking as I tried to bring the phone back to my ear. They had Marla? What were they going to do? She was innocent.
The voice chuckled. “Good… glad to know you are still with us.”
It was then that I heard the muffled voice of Marla in the background. She sounded scared. She was crying and screaming.
“Leave her alone!” I yelled.
“Quiet,” the man said. “You will keep your voice down. This call is between you and me only. Is that clear?”
I took a breath and tried to calm down. I had to think. I had to… my mind was racing, but nothing was coming to me. I needed to talk with Mason.
“Wherever you are, you will need to be quiet. If anyone tries to help you then your friend dies. And we are still going to kill you.”
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Same thing we’ve always wanted,” the voice said. “The money.”
“It’s not about the money anymore, is it?”
He laughed. “No. Smart girl. So, you can no longer buy your way out of it. That ship has sailed.”
“Let my friend go.”
“Well, you see. I’m lonely this time of year. If I let her go then who will keep me company? Who indeed…”
So, that was it. I should have guessed.
“I’ll come. But you have to let Marla go. And I have to get proof that she is gone,” I said. My teeth were gritting so hard they ached. I wished this pig’s throat was between them.
“You are not in the position to give the orders,” he said. “You will meet me at the address I’m about to give you. And you must come alone. If you alert anyone else, I will know and your friend will die very painfully.”
I knew it was a trap. It was a mistake, but what choice did I have? Marla was innocent and she needed my help. I had no doubt that they meant what they said about me alerting any help. They would know and they would make Marla pay for my own fear. I had to go alone.
I wanted to tell Mason. I wanted to alert his friends. I needed all the help I could get, but it would only have resulted in Marla’s death. I would never be able to live with myself if my foolishness cost my friend her life.
I had to follow the orders.
“OK,” I said. “I’ll come alone.”
“Good.”
He gave me the address and I wrote it down. “Be there in one hour.”
Then the line went dead. I wiped my eyes and finished getting ready to go. I had to be careful. Mason would have stopped me immediately if he’d caught me.
Stepping out of my room, I tiptoed down the hall. When I passed Mason’s room I could see some light coming in from under the door. Some soft music was coming from it as well.
I quickly snuck down the hallway and then down the stairs. Toby was still asleep on the couch.
Carefully walking through the kitchen making sure that I didn’t make a sound, so as not to disturb Toby or Mason, I went for the rack of keys that was hanging close to the door. There were over ten sets of keys sitting there. I hadn’t brought my car with me. It was too easily recognizable.
I picked a set of keys at random and exited through the doorway that led down a flight of stairs to the garage. When I reached the garage I was shocked to see twelve different cars sitting there. Mason had neglected to give me this part of the tour, merely pointing at it “The garage is over there”, before moving on.
I pressed the button to unlock the car on the remote key. A red, sporty Dodge Charger bleeped in the middle of the pack, it’s lights flashing. I cringed slightly hoping this did not alert Mason.
I quickly ran to the car and got in. I put the key in the ignition, pressed the button overhead to open the garage door, and pulled out of the garage.
Once I was clear of the garage door I pressed the overhead button again to close the door and the clamped my foot down on the accelerator, heading down the long, paved road that led to the main road.
“Marla, I’m coming.”
CHAPTER 19
Mason
I’d just got to the office when I heard the garage door. At first it didn’t even alarm me. I figured that Esmerelda was back with the shopping, but then I quickly remembered what time it was. She had been gone for a while.