Chapter 20
Alysa
Sitting face to face with Burke gave me some peace of mind that Ocalla’s people weren’t out to kill us, at least not yet. But being gagged meant the only way for Burke and me to communicate was by blinking in Morse code. It was hard to figure out what he was trying to say because his eyes were practically swollen shut.
I was able to understand that he no longer had an earpiece. I hadn’t worn mine because I figured we weren’t going to need it since we were in the same vehicle. Would it have mattered at this point? If they took Burke’s, they would’ve found mine as well.
Not that I could see much of the room, but there appeared to be no windows, and only one door. There was no way Burke and I would be able to make a break for it even if we could get ourselves untied. We could only wait and hope to be rescued. If anyone is even coming.
Even though I was in serious trouble, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to Jasper. He had passed out as Burke was about to hand me my Glock. That never happened because we were surrounded by armed men almost immediately. If we opened fire then, we’d be dead.
Surrendering wasn’t easy, but it was the only thing we could do to keep Jasper alive. Protect the civilians. No longer active duty, but you don’t lose that code.
We’d been locked up here for hours, and now the sun was low in the sky. They had blindfolded us during the transport, so even if I had a way to communicate with someone outside, I couldn’t even begin to describe where we were or how we’d gotten here.
My body ached from being tied to a chair for hours, and the accident had left me bumped and bruised all over. My side was killing me, too. I hadn’t thought about what trauma might have been done internally with all that jarring. And we were worried about being too rough during sex. That’s nothing compared to totaling an SUV. What probably saved me was my seatbelt. I couldn’t recall if Jasper had worn his.
I closed my eyes and tried to remember, but that only made my head pound. I was exhausted mentally and physically. Slowing my breath, I willed myself to sleep. Even a few minutes would be good.
But as I did so, I heard footsteps from behind me. It sounded like three people, maybe four. “Take her,” ordered a man with a deep, scratchy voice.
Oh, fuck!I opened my eyes and saw Burke struggling against his restraints. A large man walked over and punched him in the face, knocking him out. Please don’t. I know Burke wanted to protect me, save me, but he was in no shape to do so.
So far they hadn’t hit me. Was it because I was a woman? Probably not. If what Jasper had told me before was true, they would try to use me to get to him. And they needed me to look worth saving.
They untied my ankles and then my hands. If there weren’t so many of them in the room, I might have tried taking one out. But if Burke couldn’t, no way in hell was I going to be able too. All I could do was say a prayer that all they wanted to do was talk to me.
Two of the men grabbed my arms and forced me out of the room. I tried to memorize every turn we took just in case I could get free. I needed to find my way back to help Burke. But when we stopped, they again tied me to a chair - this time in front of a gleaming wood desk, with an older man seated behind it.
“Leave us,” he ordered.
That’s stupid.His eyes might be hard and cold, but I was at least half his age, and trained in hand-to-hand combat. My plan was to let him talk, and hope that he didn’t notice my attempts to loosen the restraints. Damn, they know how to tie this shit. It wasn’t going to be easy. Maybe impossible.
“Miss LaHouse, I am sure you are wondering who I am.” I didn’t say anything, and he continued. “Unless Jasper has told you about me?”
Still, I said nothing. Anything I said would give him information to use against me.
“No? Well, let me introduce myself. I am Ocalla. I shall be the next president of Tabiq, despite what Jasper believes. He is young and foolish and does not understand how the real world functions. You do, don’t you, my dear?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said. I had to keep him talking.
“I was told you are an employee of Jasper’s. Hired to help him create an economic plan for Tabiq’s future.”
That’s what my job description says.
“What I do not understand, Miss LaHouse, is why my men said you were holding a gun when they approached the SUV. Can you explain that for me?”
I don’t remember actually holding it. But Burke was definitely in the process of passing it to me. This wasn’t something I could be silent about. “We heard gunfire and I guess he was handing it to Jasper so he could help defend us.”
Ocalla stared at me and I hoped he bought it. “I can see why he’d want to. I hear you and Jasper have become very…intimate. Do not deny it. You’ve shared his bed.”
We hadn’t said a word to anyone. Even Burke didn’t know exactly how close Jasper and I were. How the hell did Ocalla? The same way he knew I was leaving today. He had to have Jasper’s place bugged. This was not good. That meant he might know who I am, as opposed to who I was pretending to be.
But Ocalla hadn’t gone after Reesa, so he didn’t seem to want Jasper’s sister. Maybe the house hadn’t been compromised until after she left. Carmella was there beforehand, so it couldn’t have been her. I knew Burke hadn’t planted anything. But there had been one visitor - Mikal. He’d come by after Reesa left for a meeting with Jasper. I didn’t actually see him, but I’d heard his voice. But why would Mikal plant a bug? From what I’d seen, Jasper trusted his assistant.
Then I remembered hearing Mikal getting his ass chewed out in the stairwell at New Hope. I had assumed that it was Jasper back then. Maybe it was Ocalla.
“I’m glad you’re not trying to deny it.”