Not Another Soldier Read online

  “Mike, go get Mr. Johnson.”

  So Skinhead is Mike. I prefer Skinhead. He definitely doesn’t look like a Michael. The other name makes me shake. I’m going to meet the guy responsible for everything that’s happened to me. I really don’t think I want to.

  I hear Mike leave the room and twine my fingers anxiously behind me. I flit my gaze from side to side, trying to figure a way out of this. I could try to run but Meathead makes a pretty good wall. I doubt I’d be able to push my way past him plus I suspect they’re carrying guns. My gaze lands on the window and I shake my head. Too high up.

  Maybe they’ll leave me alone for a while and I’ll be able to shout for help? I cling to that idea. I need to get out of this. I need to see Nick.

  The door clicks open again and I stiffen as footsteps approach. An older guy, in his fifties, strolls around me and perches on the desk in front. I take my time appraising him, while he does the same to me, a finger tapping against his chin. I gulp. There’s something about this man I find very, very scary.

  His polished shoes and well cut suit tells me this must be Mr. Johnson. He doesn’t appear very bad though. In fact, he’s quite handsome. Slightly on the slender side for my liking but his short grey hair and strong jawline make him look like the kind of guy you wouldn’t mind asking directions from.

  But then I glance into his eyes and realize why he scares me. And it’s not just ‘cause he’s kidnapped me and probably wants to kill me. It’s because there’s that stone cold cast to them. Their icy depths echo something I’ve seen before as a nurse. It’s usually in the occasional patient who doesn’t think the rules apply to them and they should be your priority. Or the son who is only visiting his dying mother because he has to and is praying for them to die so he can get his inheritance. That look says the most important thing in their lives is themselves and if you get in the way of that, you’re in trouble.

  “Mrs. Wright…” he murmurs.

  I narrow my eyes and draw my chin up. If I can help it, I won’t let him see my fear. “Can I help you?”

  He chuckles. “You can indeed. I’d like my drugs back please.”

  So he does think I still have them. “I can’t do that.”

  “And why not? Have you sold them already?”

  “No! Look I don’t know who you think I am, but I don’t have your drugs—”

  “In that case, I think you owe me a great deal of money.”

  “I don’t have money! I’m a nurse for Godsakes!”

  Mr. Johnson leans forward, the slightest smile twitching on his lips. “A nurse with a fine piece of real estate. How exactly does a nurse afford a down payment on an apartment so close to the city center?”

  “What?” I splutter. “Rob’s life insurance paid for that!” I wriggle against my bonds. This is getting ridiculous. I can’t believe this guy thinks I would sell drugs. I barely knew what the stuff looked like before the other week and now he thinks I funded my apartment with drug money.

  “I suspected you’d sold them you were able to purchase that apartment. I’m guessing you probably sold them to one of my rivals. Not many people can afford that much coke. But I bet you didn’t even get much, did you? Your husband didn’t teach you too well, sweet thing. You should have at least tried to leave the country. But maybe you thought your boyfriend would protect you…?”

  “Leave him out of this.” My heart does a little flip flop at the mention of Nick’s name.

  The slight smile on the man’s lips expands. “Ah. Was he involved too? Or didn’t he know anything about your criminal ways?”

  Okay, it’s time to set this guy straight. He’s talking in circles and my head is spinning. “Look, I don’t have your drugs. I didn’t even know about them until that asshole,” I motion with my head to Mike who’s stood to the left of me, “tried to attack me. But I found them and I handed them over to the cops. Your precious drugs are locked away somewhere where you’ll never get hold of them again.” I try to sound triumphant but the cold look that slithers across his face makes me squeak the word ‘again.’

  “If what you say is true, Mrs. Wright, then you owe me a great deal of money.”

  “I don’t have any money. I told you, I’m a nurse. I have like a few thousand in savings and that’s it!”

  He studies me for a moment, that damned finger tapping at his chin again. I meet his gaze boldly, praying—hoping—he’ll believe me and just let me go. What use am I if I can’t give him his drugs? Unfortunately the twisting in my stomach keeps drowning any vague feelings of bravery I might have.

  “Look,” I try again, “if I had your drugs I would give them to you, I swear. I didn’t want anything to do with this. I’m just a nurse. I’ve never done a bad thing in my life. Please let me go. I won’t tell anyone.” I can see he’s still not convinced. Or he’s deciding what to do with me. “There was an article in the papers about the drugs. The cops thought you’d see it. It… it was in the Glenwood Gazette over a week ago. I’m telling the truth. Please, let me go.”

  Mr. Johnson snorts. “You might be. Or perhaps you’re a very good actress. Your husband had a very gifted tongue. And you do plead your case well.” He looks over my shoulder. “Al, do you have her cell?”

  “Yep.” He passes it over me.

  My eyes are wide as he flicks through my phone. I think I know what he’s looking for and I’m terrified. My heart pounds and I desperately need to pee. I clamp thighs together and try to breathe slowly.

  “Your boyfriend… Nick, isn’t it? Shall we see what he says? Maybe he can confirm your story.”

  “No!” I don’t want Nick involved. I just know he’ll do something stupid if he realizes I’m in trouble. No way am I going to let him put himself in danger. I would actually rather die than let anything happen to him.

  Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever truly felt like that about another person.

  “Let’s see. We’ve got a Nicholas F or just plain old Nick. I imagine that’s the one.” He offers me the phone. “Are you going to speak to him and ask him for help?”

  I clamp my mouth shut and shake my head.

  “Brave woman, aren’t you? But foolish. You must realize you are way in over your head.”

  Of course I realize that. And I don’t know what I’m doing. I suspect this is going to end very badly for me. I want to cry when I think of not seeing Nick again or how my parents will react when they get the news. But I bite down on my lip and somehow keep my composure.

  Mr. Johnson presses my cell and I hear the ringing as he puts it on speakerphone. Nick answers quickly. “Sienna?”

  There’s panic in his tone. Does he know something’s happened to me? I make a small sound and then bite my lip again. I don’t want to give him any reason to worry about me.

  “Nick?” Mr. Johnson says. “I have Sienna with me here. Did you know your girlfriend was involved with drugs?”

  “What are you talking about?” Nick’s tone hardens. “What have you done to her? I swear to God—”

  “Yes, yes.” Mr. Johnson waves a hand to himself. “Now, listen. Your pretty little Sienna says she doesn’t have the drugs anymore. Nor does she have the money apparently. Now I must admit to being a little annoyed about this. As you can imagine, this puts me quite out of pocket. Would you like to tell me if you know anything about this? You could save your girlfriend quite a lot of hassle if you could tell me where the drugs are.”

  The line goes quiet and I hold my breath. What’s he doing? Just tell him there’s no drugs, I scream in my mind.

  “Let me talk to Sienna,” Nick finally says.

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  Another pause. “What do you want?”

  “I want the drugs or the money.”

  “If I bring the drugs, will you let Sienna go?”

  “Absolutely.”

  I shake my head, more to myself than anything. What’s he doing? He doesn’t have the drugs. So what the fuck is he saying?

  “I’ll b
ring the drugs,” Nicks says firmly, “and you’ll let Sienna go.”

  “Good.” Mr. Johnson meets my gaze and grins. Somehow I doubt I’m going anywhere. “Come to the docks. My man, Al, will meet you at the gate. You’ll recognize him. You met before when you tried to run him off. And, Nick, I don’t think I need to say this but come alone. I’ve got a ship waiting to leave and I may just decide to throw her overboard if you don’t comply.”

  “I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

  This triggers something in my brain and I jump to standing. “No! Nick,” I call, “don’t come!” I’m pushed back on the chair and a hand whips across my cheek, the same one that was backhanded. I’m not sure who did it but I can’t help but cry out as pain sears my face. When my vision clears Mr. Johnson is still holding my phone but I don’t know if Nick’s remains on the line. I pray he didn’t hear my scream.

  ***

  Nick

  If there’s anything more agonizing than the sound of the woman you love in pain, then I don’t know what it is. My heart hurts, my skin is hot. I feel a little like my eyes might pop out of my head in rage. I slam my palm into the door, the sharp sting not really distracting me from the very real agony inside.

  “Fuck!”

  I draw in a long breath through my nostrils. But I know where she is, which is more than I knew five minutes ago. I could have guessed she was at the docks but it was a shot in the dark and the place is huge. But she’s alive. For now. I don’t doubt this Johnson would happily kill us both if we don’t hand over the drugs.

  The drugs… yeah, one minor problem. But I wasn’t going to let on we didn’t have them, not when there was a chance I could find out where Sienna was.

  And now I know. I curl my fist and glance around the apartment. Part of me wants to sit down, think out a plan and the other part just wants to drive down and tear apart anyone who’s laid a finger on her. I force myself to keep my pace slow as I shut the door and ascend the stairs.

  I’ve got my gun tucked safely in the back of my pants, it’s weight reassuring against my spine. I think I’m going to have to play this by ear. I’ve got no idea what I’m going up against and the docks are huge. If I don’t play along for a while, I’ll never find her and it will be too late.

  I climb in my car and gun the engine. As I drive downtown, I consider the possibilities. Most of the scenarios end up with both of us dead. I’m going to have to call the cops—the call from Johnson interrupted my first attempt. I’ll try to speak to that Detective perhaps—but not yet. I’m not risking them harming Sienna if Johnson sees I’ve brought a load of friends with me.

  I swear aloud at everyone who stalls me. The traffic isn’t bad and I gave myself enough time but I’m itching to get to her. If I can just see her, be by her side, I can protect her. At the moment, she’s all alone and vulnerable. It makes my insides coil in horror. Who knows what they could be doing to her? They’re criminals after all. I doubt they have any sense of common decency.

  “I’m coming, short stuff,” I mutter over and over. “Be brave, babe.”

  It sounds stupid but I feel like our connection is so strong, surely she can hear me or sense me in some way?

  With the docks up ahead, I pull over and tug out my cell from my front pocket. The number takes me straight through to the detective’s desk. I suppose I could have called 911 but I’m hoping the detective will handle this with a little more finesse than showing up, all guns blazing.

  “Detective Matthews.”

  “Detective, this is Nick Jackson. We met when you dealt with the drug find that Sienna Wright called in.”

  “Oh yeah. I remember. We’re still sending patrol cars by, you know?”

  Yeah for all the good that did. “Well, it didn’t work. She’s in trouble. This Mr. Johnson they belonged to has her and is threatening all sorts if he doesn’t get his drugs back.”

  “You know we can’t just hand them back over…” he says cautiously.

  “Yeah, I get that. But you need to understand this, Detective, Sienna is in trouble and I’m going to get her. This guy says I have to go alone and frankly I don’t want a ton of cop cars coming down and scaring him.” I sweep a hand through my hair and sigh. “But I could probably do with some backup.”

  “Nick, now don’t do anything stupid. Sit tight and wait for backup. Where are you? We’ll send some guys down and we’ll get her out of there.”

  “Listen, he’s threatening to kill her if I’m not there in,” I glance at my watch, “ten minutes. I’m not waiting around for you guys to go in and end up in a standoff. I’ve seen how these things go.”

  Detective Matthews makes a sound of frustration and mutters something under his breath about ‘damned cop shows’. “I’m coming down, okay? And I’ll bring our negotiator down. We’ll get her out of there, just tell me where you are.”

  “I’m down at the docks. But, Detective, I ain’t waiting around. My girl is in there and I’m getting her out.”

  I hang up and start the car again. I’ve done what I can. Now I’m going to pray luck is on my side. If I have to shoot every one of them to get to Sienna, I will.

  When I pull up to the gates, I wait for the security guy to come ask me what I’m going there but he remains inside his little hut. Instead, a hulking red-haired guy—I almost grin when I recognize him as the one I scared off—approaches and motions for security to open the gate. He motions me in and I wind down the window as the gate closes behind me.

  This is it, I guess. My palms are clammy, my pulse races. I need to see Sienna and I’ll be okay. Once I know she’s alive, I can figure out my next move. I eye the guy while he approaches.

  “You got the stuff?”

  I nod and indicate with my head. “Yeah, in the trunk.”

  He comes around, opens the door and presses his large body into the passenger seat. “Drive.”

  I do as he says, my gut bunched in knots. I flex my fingers on the wheel in anticipation and also to control my urge to wrap my hands around that fat neck of his. I say Sienna’s name in my head over and over, making sure I keep my focus. Only when we’re away from the gatehouse does he draw out a pistol and motions with it to a large warehouse up ahead. The morning sun glints off the windows and blinds me slightly. Crates surround us, all different colors and I tense. I have my doubts the detective will find us in this maze. Have I just made the biggest mistake of my life?

  “Don’t do anything stupid.”

  I smirk. It might be too fucking late.

  “Pull over here.” He motions with his gun. I wish he’d stop waving that damned thing around. Doesn’t he know how dangerous they are? Still I can always hope he accidentally shoots himself.

  I pull the Jeep to a stop and glance up at the large building. It’s grim and grey and far too big. I could probably knock this guy out and then try to find Sienna but I’m not sure I like my chances. I’d probably get shot before I get anywhere near her and I don’t know how many lackeys this guy has.

  The choice is made for me anyway as when I step out, I spot Sienna being dragged from the warehouse by a well-dressed man and another guy with a skinhead. That guy, I definitely want to kill for what he did to Sienna. He’s the only one holding a gun but I’m willing to bet The Suit has one concealed. Johnson doesn’t look that bad, but from the little research I did, he’s up to his elbows in shit.

  Bile rises in my throat as they draw close and the large sidekick comes to my side, pistol aimed for my torso. I lean back against the car in feigned nonchalance, mostly to hide the Beretta under my T-shirt. Thank God the idiot at my side didn’t think to search me.

  Sienna’s gaze meets mine, tear filled and clearly terrified. She looks like she wants to speak but keeps flitting her gaze to the men either side of her. Rage, scalding and suffocating, fills me when I notice the bruises flaring on her cheeks and under both eyes. I have to fight the tightness in my chest and the mist rising in front of my eyes. Anger won’t help me right now. I need to be c
alm and in control. I make a silent promise to myself to ensure someone pays for hurting her later.

  Her hands must be tied behind her back and as I study her, I see her feet are bare, dirty and scratched. She must have put up a fight. I can’t help feel a little proud of my girl.

  “Nick?” The Suit asks.

  “Yeah. You’re the Mr. Johnson I’ve been hearing about I guess.”

  “That would be me. You have the drugs?”

  “I do.”

  He grins slightly. “You want to get them?”

  “Give me Sienna first.”

  Johnson shakes his head with a wry laugh. “You realize I could just kill you both and take them.”

  “You could.” I glance around deliberately. “But I’m willing to bet blood and dead bodies outside your warehouse wouldn’t look too good. Especially when the cops are planning on stopping by. Plus I don’t know what deal you’ve got with the security around here, but I very much doubt everyone here is in your pocket. Gun shots would draw some attention.”

  “You were meant to come alone.”

  “I’m alone. If we get this done, we can be on our way and the cops will have nothing to find will they?”

  He shifts his hand to Sienna’s neck and gives it a little squeeze, causing her to whimper. “I don’t need a gun to kill her.”

  Jaw clamped shut, I try to convey some kind of promise to Sienna. One that says I’ll get her out of here and love her forever, but at the moment I’m still hunting for a plan. I just need her in my arms and then I’ll get her to safety. I’m not so sure if I can say the same for myself but I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she’s okay.