‘Hurry up.’ he dragged on my arm as he paced along quickly. He shifted the duffle bag onto his shoulder so he could grip hold of me tighter. His pale blue eyes flashed impatiently at me.
‘I’m walking as fast as I can.’ I snapped back and pulled my arm out of his grasp.
He grabbed hold of it again roughly and dragged me closer. ‘Not fast enough. Now get a move on.’
‘Get stuffed arsehole.’ I spat at him my own green eyes full of anger and frustration as he dragged me along. I deliberately pulled back playing for time, and time counted for everything now, the longer I stalled the better my chances.
‘I thought I told you to be nice to me.’ He stopped and turned me to look at him, I felt my skin crawl with revulsion as his face closed in on mine.
Please don’t let him kiss me again I worried as my heart leapt to my mouth but swallowing my fear and distaste I hissed at him. ‘And I thought I told you that I would be nice to you over my dead body.’
He jerked me roughly forward, his face inches away from mine but instead of kissing me he turned abruptly and continued to walk on telling me. ‘You’ve a tongue as sweet as a vipers kiss.’
‘I guess you bring out the best in me.’ I said sarcastically as I stumbled in his wake.
He barked out a harsh laugh. ‘Your sense of humour might yet be your saving grace.’
‘Well yours isn’t, I find you extremely lacking in humour.’
‘Jacqueline, you’re a haughty piece of work.’ He sneered.
‘Blame my breeding it’s in my blood’ I taunted him
‘Oh how could I forget, you’re so aristocratic, so ruling class. So typical of your type.’
‘You’re so pathetic.’ I said scathingly.
‘No, I’m not.’ He turned and faced me angrily. Great an inferiority complex, just what I needed to add into the mixing pot of his personality as well as him being totally nuts. ‘I’ll have you know I served with distinction in her Majesty’s armed forces.’ He added proudly.
‘Oh and I can see you excelled in the gentlemanly conduct department. Was stalking, murder and kidnapping a part of your training?’ I rattled on and on as he dragged me along moaning about everything and anything making him angry. I said everything I could think of to annoy him, and I knew I had a talent for it. Journalists had often told me after seeing me deal with the paparazzi that I had a poisonous tongue. It was a side of me my friends never witnessed.
‘Will you shut the fuck up.’ he stopped still and gave me a none to gentle shaking that made my insides rattle.’ For god’s sake just shut up or I’ll choke you.’
‘I thought you were throwing me over board, that’s a much better way to dispose of the body isn’t it?’ I said as he released me.
He stopped and waved a finger in my face his pale blue eyes wild with anger. ‘Listen My Lady, you will bow to my will, now or later, it doesn’t matter, so enjoy your little hurrah while you have the chance.’ I glared at him from under the stupid had given me. Just keep it up Jac, infuriate him so he won’t think straight. Just try to keep stalling.
We came to a small marina and there scattered about were a few yachts and boats, of an indistinguishable nature. We walked, well he dragged me unwillingly across the harbour front. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a group of teenagers larking about in a small boat, they were fishing or just mucking about like kids do. There were two girls and two boys, around about sixteen years of age I guessed or maybe a touch older. As we were walking past them and I caught the eye of one of the girls.
She stared, and stared and looked at me as if my face was familiar to her. I smiled as slightly as my split lip would allow but not wanting to draw attention to the fact that she might have recognised me. I turned and continued my tirade of abuse towards my kidnapper, who manhandled me roughly as he pulled me along. I pretended to trip over and stumble to my knees, knocking off my hat so I exposed my face fully to her. Her eyes widened in recognition as I made eye contact with her and made my silent appeal for help. Quickly she looked down then up and turned away. I scrambled to my feet, being half dragged along.
‘Get up.’ he said as he dragged me up, I hoped with my nagging and his arrogance he wouldn’t have paid any attention to the kids in the boat. But I felt her eyes bore into my retreating back as we continued walking along, and I knew there was my chance
Kevin and the guys had always laughed and been slightly in awe about their fan’s ability to know exactly what they were up to. They called them the BSB secret service, and now I placed my hopes that their suppositions about their fans were right. I was certain that young teenage girl had recognised me, I hoped to god she had. Please for once let the publicity machine work for me. Let that girl know about my predicament so she could raise the alarm.
***************************
The girl watched as the strange couple walked on, she could see the female was reluctantly being dragged along against her will. She was only half listening to her friends chatter. She was thinking about what she had read in the newspaper this morning, what she had seen on TV and she thought about what she should do about it. She said to her friend. ‘Jenna.. Jenna shut up will you.’
‘Why?’ Jenna asked bemused at her best friend’s indifference to her chatter.
‘That was Jacqueline Ryecroft…I think.’ she added hurriedly to her friends.
‘Who?’ asked one of the boys as he fiddled with his fishing rod
‘You know who she is..that English actor married to Kevin from the Backstreet Boys.’
‘Don’t be stupid Louise, you’ve been watching too much TV and reading too many of those stupid girlie magazines, besides what would she be doing here in dullsville?’
‘She was kidnapped from that award show, her bodyguard was murdered and another one shot. Andy, haven’t you seen the reports on TV and the papers, this guy’s been stalking her for ages?’ Louise asked her brother in frustration. ‘ It’s been all over the news.’ She looked at his blank uncomprehending face and muttered. ‘Oh god you’re so thick.’
‘ I haven’t been paying much attention.’ Andy told her, then the penny dropped ‘Ohhh her…my god, do you reckon it was.’
‘Lou, I think you might be right, she did look familiar….and he was dragging her along.’ Jenna said thoughtfully her eyes following the direction that Louise was looking. ‘Look Lou they’re getting on that boat.’
Louise looked over and her stomached tightened as she thought. ‘Well I think she stumbled on purpose, she looked right at me, it’s definitely her I’d swear it. I think we should ring the police, wasn’t the phone number of the detective in charge in the paper? Didn’t say anyone with any info to ring?’
‘We could go home and look.’ Jenna said.
‘Andy and Jeff you stay here and watch them. Make sure you keep them in sight, but don’t make it obvious.’
‘Yeah ok Lou, but you better be quick about it.’ Jeff said to the girls.
‘Do you have your phone Andy?’ Louise asked her older brother.
‘Yeah I do, look we’ll float about here looking like we’re fishing, now you get off home as quick as you can ok?’
The two boys helped the girls climb out of the boat onto the wharf and watched them quickly make there way out of sight.
Jeff looked at Andy. ‘This could be dangerous you know.’
Andy grinned. ‘Yeah, but it could make us famous. Look let’s just put the boat over there, we can pretend we are fishing and keep an eye on them at the same time.’
***********************************
Steve paced about stopping every now and then to look and marvel at the varied people and personalities scattered about Kevin and Jac’s apartment. He knew money was no option when it came to Jac and her family and Kevin was no slouch in the earnings department, but you would never have known it from the way they acted or treated people. Here was her father a member of the British aristocracy and a financial tycoon in his own right, preparing and cooking food and dishing out coffee and tea for the numerous friends, family, police and anyone else who gathered around to support Kevin. Miles certainly wasn’t like anything Steve had expected of the man, considering his title and wealth. But then again neither was his eccentric actor daughter. And then there was Kevin and his bandmates, superstars with no egos, but just a genuine concern for their friend and the difficult time he was going through. They were a grounded bunch of men, even Aj with his wild hair and tattooed and pierced body and his girlfriend, the Australian media tycoon’s daughter, who had handled the press with such style.
He was impressed how they and their partners had all gathered around to offer their support, they were a tight knit bunch, knowing when and what to say and when to back off.
And even though he could tell Kevin was close to breaking point and was distraught with worry, he never once lost it. Even though everyone could see he was torn up inside and hurting with a pain so unimaginable to them, he kept it under control.
Kevin had even been to visit Gideon, to reassure himself that the big man was ok and that he would suffer no long lasting pain and after effects. When asked by a reporter why he was so concerned about this man, he’d answered that Jac would have wanted him to make sure Gideon was alright, and he owed the man who would have put his life on the line for his wife that much consideration at least. Plus he wanted, needed to thank him for all he had done, and console him on the loss of a friend, for James in the short time he had been with them had become a friend to them all.
Steve watched Kevin out of the corner of his eye as he sat waiting for the call to hear if the techs had traced the phone Jac had hidden.
He sat off alone to one side lost deep in thought as all the conversation of those around him washed over him. He looked demoralised like the weight of the world was on his shoulders and his face wore a haggard tired look, sleep wasn’t coming easy by the looks of it. His normally bright green eyes had a haunted look about them. Nick walked by on the way to the bathroom and placed a hand lightly on Kevin’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Kevin looked up and gave him a wan smile, but it never quite reached his eyes. Howie and Michelle, were picking up coffee cups and handing out coffee and sandwiches to everyone, Sue and Lee were helping Kerry with her press duties, taking calls and making statements from the never ending inquiries. Aj was in the kitchen with Miles, who was keeping a continual supply of food and coffee going for the police that popped in and out of the apartment and the never ending stream of visitors as the day wore on. Brian looked across at Kevin from where he stood beside Sue, and said something softly to her, before moving to sit beside his cousin. He leaned in and began talking quietly to him, Steve was too far away to hear what Brian was saying but he guessed it was something to offer comfort.
His phone rang making him jump, he’d been so lost in thought reflecting on these people in the room that he momentarily forgot about the phone. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked across expectantly to listen to Steve as he took the call.
‘Detective Malroney. Hi Dave, what have you got? What! You’re kidding me right? This is down right unbelievable and the area matches the trace. Good work, thank those guys for me. Look, get them to keep those kids handy there I’ll want to question them. Yes we’re on our way the minute I put the phone down. Dave I want two swat teams there asap, yeah and I want Peter Rodgers in charge. Yeah he’s the best man for a hostage retrieval situation. A negotiator, well I don’t think this Reid guy is there to negotiate. Yeah Dave I know that but trust me, this guy doesn’t want to be talked out of this situation. We’re dealing with a highly trained soldier here, who’s shown how ruthless he can be. He’s quite capable of letting nothing stand in the way of him gaining his own ends. Our one and only concern is to get Ms Ryecroft out safe. Brief Rodgers on this guy. I want Rodgers inside this guy’s head. I want Rodgers knowing what he’s thinking and when. When he’s eating and when he’s not, when he scratches his arse and when he’s going for a piss. Got the picture? Good, oh and alert the coast guard. I don’t want him slipping through our net, not now, not now that we’re this close. Get every thing that can fly, move on wheels, and sail to that area now and set up a defensive perimeter. And tell them to be discreet, we don’t want to tip off the birdy by showing our hand too soon. Right ok, I’ll be in contact. Yep have the helicopter primed and waiting to leave the minute we get there.’ He rang off and turned to face everyone, everyone was waiting with bated breath, you could have heard a pin drop, the room was that silent. Steve sought the pair of eyes he was looking for. ‘Kev, we’ve found them.’
Kevin looked up from where he sat. He ran his hands through his hair distractedly. ‘This is just another move on the chess board isn’t it? There are still no guarantees that Jax will be ok’ he couldn’t bring himself to speak of his worst fears, but he was sure everyone here shared them and was thinking along those lines as well.
‘Yes, Kev it is, unfortunately it’s not over yet, not by a long shot. But we hold the winning move, we’ve the upper hand… the element of surprise. We know where he is, and he doesn’t know that.’
‘I hope to god you are right.’ Kevin’s soft words were barely audible. He stood up and walked to the glass sliding door and rested his forehead against its coolness, his insides were in turmoil, a raging storm of hope, despair and fear. He closed his eyes and recalled his wife’s face to mind and he felt a wave of emotion wash over him, he loved her so much he couldn’t imagine his life without her. He had to be there at the end, whatever happened. He sighed exhaling the breath he didn’t realise he had been holding. Well the dice had been thrown now, which way would they fall, and whom would they favour? Fate would have its way, but he couldn’t believe fate would bring them together like it had only to tear them apart so soon. Surely it wouldn’t be so cruel.
‘I’m coming with you Steve.’ Kevin said as he turned to face everyone. His face looked determined, there would be no arguments from anyone. They all knew that look well. Sue felt a sob catch in her throat, she knew Jac would have teased Kevin mercilessly about that look on his face. They had often laughed together about the two cousin’s stubborn traits. She quickly dashed a tear from her eye and pushed the memory away. She had to think positive, that all would work out ok.
‘Somehow I thought you would be.’ Steve said. ‘But that’s not all Kevin, besides the tracing the phone, we’ve had a tip off.’ Everyone looked intrigued.
‘A tip off?’ Howie asked.
‘Yeah seems some kids were mucking about in a boat, and one of the girls recognised Jac. She thinks Jac deliberately stumbled so the kid could get a good look at her face. Turns out these two girls are fans of you guys.’
‘Oh our fans are the best in the world’ Aj said proudly. ‘They know everything.’
‘They’re better than the secret service.’ Nick smiled slightly. ‘Who’d have thought of a fan tipping you guys off?’
‘But this Reid guy might still get away though, if he does how will we find him?’ Kevin asked, he was itching to get going now, chaffing with impatience at the delay.
‘Seems these two girls are enterprising young ladies. They left a brother and his friend there to keep an eye on the boat Jac’s on. And they have a phone. At the last report there was still no movement from the boat, so the boys are still there watching. We’ll have our men in place soon, and the coast guard won’t take long, our only worry is the weather, a storm has been predicted for later. So do you want to pack a bag Kev? I presume you’re coming as well Carlos? ‘ Steve looked at him with an eyebrow raised, when Carlos’s nodded Steve grinned ‘Thought so.’
‘Yeah well he ain’t going anywhere without me.’ Carlos nodded towards Kevin.
‘This is my worry Carlos.’ Kevin said softly.
‘Where you go I go and I’m not arguing with you Kevin, I’m coming as with you.’ The big man said.
‘Thank you Carlos.’ Kevin said simply, he was grateful to the big man.
‘We’re gonna get her back lad.’ Carlos placed his huge hand on Kevin’s shoulder.
Steve looked around at everyone. ‘Ok I think we should get a move on though, go pack a bag you two. I’ll have another cup of coffee while I wait for you both. I feel like the only thing keeping me going is Miles’s coffee.’
**************************
They stood and watched as the helicopter landed on the designated circle on top of the L.A.P.D building. Its blades whizzing about stirred up a backdraft that lifted Kevin’s fine hair and floated it about his face. He pushed at it, tucking it impatiently behind his ears, but to no avail, it blew straight out again and he gave up and just gave his head a shake as he picked up his bag in readiness.
The blades stilled and slowed to a halt and Steve motioned them to follow him. They climbed up into the cockpit, chucked their bags over the back, strapped in and took off all within minutes of the chopper landing.
At any other time Kevin would have been thrilled to be flying for he loved it, but now all he wanted to do was get this trip over and done with. He sat silently, staring out of the window, watching the coastal scenery fly by mile after mile. His brows broodingly lowered over hooded eyes shielding his innermost thoughts as he looked over the seemingly endless stretch of ocean.
‘Where do you think he was taking her?’ Kevin spoke suddenly. Steve how had been staring pensively out of the other window turned to face Kevin.
‘I wish I could tell you Kev. The possibilities are endless, but he won’t get far even if he does manage to escape that harbour.’ Steve yawned and gave Kevin an apologetic smile. ‘Sorry.’
‘When did you last sleep?’ Kevin asked him.
Steve gave him a tired grin. ‘About the last time you did.’ He stretched his arms over his head and yawned again. ‘I think I need a vacation.’
‘I don’t know how you do this job Steve, do you ever get worn down by it?’ Kevin asked as he turned to look out the window again before turning back to face the detective.
Steve sighed as he thought. ‘Yeah…yeah I do. Sometimes all I see is sadness and heartbreak, and I wonder how mankind can be capable of the things it does to its own kind. Then occasionally something good will happen, and you feel like you’ve achieved something, and that you just somehow might be winning the battle, holding back the tide.’
‘Whatever happens Steve I want to thank you. I know you’ve worked your butt of for us and I….well I know Jax would want to say thanks as well.’
‘She’ll be able to tell me in person Kev, of that I’m confident, but when this case is over I’m taking a long, long, vacation. I see white sands, warm water, sun and I’m gonna sleep like Carlos here for the whole time.’ Steve tilted his head back and nodded at Carlos who was leaning against the side of the helicopter snoring softly.
Kevin smiled tiredly. ‘You know Steve, that’s probably not such a bad idea, a vacation.’
The pilot leaned back and said. ‘We’re nearly there fellas, five minutes ok?’
Steve nodded and turned back to face Kevin. ‘A car will meet us and take us to where we’ve set up shop. Hopefully Rodgers will have some plans ready for us.’
‘This Rodgers…...I mean he’s good at what he does is he?’ Kevin asked hopefully.
‘He’s the best we have Kev, ex Navy seal like Gideon. He’s every bit as trained as Reid is, highly decorated served with distinction. He rescued his brother an intelligence operative from terrorists about five years ago. He was a hostage and Pete went in alone and got him out, and those ten terrorists are no longer able to spread their fear throughout the world.’
‘You mean they’re dead?’
‘Yep and from what I hear it was quick fast and they didn’t know what hit them. After that he was decorated again with the Legion of Merit, but he decided he wanted to retire from the Navy, and he became a police officer, and he now heads up our Swat team. So Jac’s got a good team batting for her Kev, Pete Rodgers is our own Casey Rybeck, except Pete’s a lousy cook.’
Steve made Kevin laugh. ‘Now that’s better, are you a bit more reassured now?’
‘Yeah, I guess so, well that is to say, I’m scared shitless..’ Kevin admitted.
‘That makes two of us Kev.’ He smiled turning around. ‘I guess we better wake sleeping beauty up hey?’
‘Now that I can do.’ Kevin flashed a rare smile. ‘This is my revenge for all the times he’s banged on my door and dragged me out of bed.
***************************
I rattled the door of the cabin. Locked, as I thought it would be. I crawled up onto the bunk and craned my head around looking out of the small cabin window and saw a boat floating in the distance. It had the same to boys in it, but the girls were gone. I sat back and rested my head against the wall of the cabin, and closed my eyes. I was emotionally exhausted and living off my wits and nerves was taking its toll, I felt so drained. But the fact that the girls were not in that boat got me thinking that maybe, just maybe I had some hope of getting found.