“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate,” Nick said. “And I’m not asking for you to get involved. Just keep your eyes and ears open, let me know if anyone in the department seems to be showing the case more interest than would be considered normal.”
It was all Nick had: find someone connected to the Walkers, someone he could pull off the street inthe dark, beat to a pulp until the guy — or girl — squealed about what they knew about Alexa’s kidnapping.
It was either that or bust into Frederick’s house and take the old man. Nick wasn’t ruling it out — he would rule nothing out until Alexa was home safe — but it was a last resort. There wouldn’t be any coming back from a move like that one.
“I can do that,” Kyle said, “but man… I’m worried about you. This is some serious shit.”
There was no way to tell Kyle that he’d been in serious shit before, that he and Ronan and Declan had gone up against some of society’s most powerful and dangerous criminals, that the thing that made this case serious wasn’t just the Walkers, but the fact that there was so much at stake.
That Nick had so much to lose.
“Don’t worry,” Nick said.
“I’m worried, man. I’m really fucking worried about you right now.”
“I’ve got this.”
Kyle looked skeptical as he picked up the plate. “Want to stay for dinner? Plenty of food.”
Nick clapped him on the back. “Thanks, but no. Another time.”
He had one more stop to make.
17
Alexa’s eyes flew open, adrenaline flooding her body as she searched for the source of her alertness. She heard it again a second later — someone was outside the bathroom door.
She’d fallen asleep in the bathtub and scrambled to get out of it. She had no idea what was coming at her from the other side of the door, and while she didn’t have anything to defend herself, she could at least be standing on her own two feet.
She got out of the tub and flattened herself against the wall between it and the toilet, her eyes on the door.
“Face the wall under the window,” a voice, male and heavily accented, said from the other side. Russian? Eastern European? “If you move when I come inI will have to hurt you. Keep your back turned until I leave. You understand?”
“Yes.” Alexa’s voice, hoarse from disuse, came out fainter than she’d intended. She tried again, wanting to make sure the man heard her. “Yes, I understand.”
She considered disobeying, hiding near the door, rushing whoever came through it, making a run for it.
But that would be stupid. She had no idea who was on the other side of the door, how big he might be, if he was alone, whether he had a weapon. She couldn’t even really count on the element of surprise, since the man would probably be as cautious entering the room as she felt waiting for him to enter it.
It was better to wait. To gather as much information as she could so she could plan an escape for later.
She faced the wall and heard something turn inside the door with a dull thud. There was a metallic clink — the sound of a key being put into the lock on the knob? — and then the creak of the door, the sensation of space opening up behind her, a presence standing in the doorway.
She tried to calm her breathing, listening for clues as to what was going on behind her.
A couple of footsteps, a pause, the rustle of paper. “Face the wall until I leave. Don’t make noise. Don’t cause trouble,” the man said. “Maybe you will live.”
More footsteps, the click of the door being shut, the sound of locks engaging in the door.
She turned around, half-expecting the man to still be there, but he was gone. Her eyes landed on a white paper bag that had been set on the sink vanity.
Her stomach rumbled and she realized that she was ravenously hungry. She looked up at the frosted window, wondering if it was her imagination that the light looked darker. How long had it been since they’d taken her? How long had she been in the bathroom?
They were questions with no answers, and she grabbed the paper bag and unrolled the top, inhaling the scent of oil and onions and cooked meat. There were two hamburgers and a container of french fries inside. She inhaled one of the burgers, closing her eyes with pleasure as she chewed.
She ate the fries slowly, savoring the break from her boredom as much as she savored the food, and forced herself to stop when she was halfway done. She didn’t know how long it would be until theybrought more food. She didn’t want to be reckless, assume they were going to keep taking care of her.
She had no idea what was going on outside. Had her kidnappers — Juska, it had to be Juska — contacted Nick? Her parents? Were they asking for something in exchange for Alexa’s safe return? Were they staying quiet, hoping to scare Nick into dropping the issue of Leland Walker?