Sweet Harmony (27 page)

Lately she'd come to realize mistakes were too easy to make.

"It's fine, Dad," she said. "You had good intentions. Besides, I know you probably needed the time away from me. I look like Mom, so you'd be reminded of her every time you see me."

"You look like her, but
that's all," he said. "I've never known two people to act less alike in my entire life."

"Yeah, I'm more like you
on the inside," she said. "Do you want to know something funny? When I was younger, I used to want to be like her. I would have given anything to have more of her personality and less of mine. Now I'm glad I'm more like you."

"Okay, seriously, what happened to my daughter?" he asked.
"You just paid me a compliment and you aren't even trying to smooth over the fact you blew up the kitchen or put fake mice on the staff food table."

"I guess we all have to grow up eventually, Dad."
She chewed her nails again.

"Yeah
, I suppose we do." He sounded almost sad. "Don't grow up too much, though. I've missed your loudness and your troublemaking. It'll be good to have you home."

"It'll be good to be home." That
wasn't a lie. She would miss Daniel and Jaiden, but it would make her happy to see her family.

"Annamar
ie!" Boris yelled from outside the bathroom.

Uh-oh.

"I'm almost done," she cried back.

"What's going on?" her dad asked.

"Sorry, Dad," she said. "Somebody is waiting for me. I don't have much time."

"All right." Her dad paused. "Do you want me to come get you
right away instead? I can change flights. I think you need me more than the city of Toronto at the moment."

"I'm still your karate chopping daughter," she said. "I can wait two days."

"If you're sure," he said. "I'm still worried."

"Don't be. I'll be fine," she said. "Have a good concert and I'll see you soon."

"Bye," he said.

"Bye."

She hung up and stared at her phone. Two days. That was all she had left with Daniel. She'd better make the time count—and try not to die in the process.

****

That afternoon, Annamarie lingered next to Daniel as Boris stood in the corner of the room. She stared out the window, taking in the scenery. The grass was showered in the golden light of the sun. The leaves on the trees were a bright green, announcing the coming of summer. Students headed from lunch to class.
I can't believe I'm going to miss this place.
She blew out a sigh.

"What's the matter with you?" Daniel wrapped his arms around her waist. "You aren't the type of
person to mope and sigh like that. You're the type who threatens to kill people for no reason whatsoever."

It took her a moment to recover from the sudden physical contact. She wasn't sure she'd ever
get used to being touched by him. Not that she'd have the chance to become used to it with her leaving in only a couple days.

"I'm just sleepy," she
lied. "A certain somebody snored so loud last night I'm surprised the walls weren't shaking."

"Hmph." Daniel wrinkled his nose
and stepped away from her. "You think I'm a bad sleeper? You stole the entire blanket and cocooned yourself."

She whirled around to face him.

"You're worse than me," she said without hesitation. "You keep tossing and turning. So annoying."

"You kick and punch. What, do you do battle in your
dreams too?" Daniel asked.

"Well, y
ou talk in your sleep." Last night, she'd heard him mumbling about hamburgers.

"
Whatever. Take a look at this." Daniel seized the bottom of his pants and pulled them up to his kneecap. A large purple bruise marred his otherwise perfect golden skin. "I got this when you tried to push me out of bed."

She opened her mouth to respond, but the shrill ring of the
school bell interrupted her. The bell meant it was time to head to class. Daniel groaned.

"I suppose you want me to go to class, right?" Daniel looked to her for a response
.

Now that her phone call
with her dad was over, she half wanted to ask Daniel not to go. Unfortunately, she knew he should attend class—and Daniel would never let her hear the end of it if she asked him to stay with her anyway.

"I
guess you should go," she said.

"Fine." Daniel blew out a sigh. "I'll be back around three. Jaiden has a free period for his last class, so he promised he'd come keep you company at one-thirty. You should only be alone for two hours."

It would be good to talk to Jaiden. She had to find a way to ease the tension between her and him.

"I'll see you later," she said.

"There is one last thing." Daniel grinned at her.

"Yeah?"

Before she had time to gather her thoughts, the guy stepped toward her and pressed his lips against her own. The two of them melted together. It was sheer magic. Tingles spread from her heart out to her limbs. Daniel's mouth was warm and sweet, probably because of the chocolate he'd just eaten. It was amazing how she could fight with him one second and be so immersed in his arms the next. What was wrong with her? How could her heart be filled with such precious feelings so quickly? By the time Daniel pulled back, her brain was mush again.

Considering Daniel's superior smirk, he knew what effect he had on her.

"If you like kissing me so much, I could stay and we could—"

She picked up his backpack and hurled it into his chest. "Scram."

"Touchy, touchy." Daniel pulled his backpack on. "There's no reason to be ashamed of liking to kiss, you know."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Goodbye to you too." Daniel stepped back, still grinning, and headed out the door.

After she heard the door click shut, she muttered, "Daniel is so full of himself."

To this, Boris said nothing. Like usual. If she hadn't heard him speak before, she'd have sworn he was mute. How could a guy not talk? Frowning, she sunk onto the bed.

Normally
when she was stuck in one place for a long period of time, she was bored stiff. She wasn't the sort of girl who sat around and did nothing. It drove her nuts. Now she had too much to think about to go stir crazy. For example, she'd be saying her goodbyes to Daniel. She just wondered how she could properly say farewell to him without letting him know she was leaving for good. It may have been a horrible move on her part, but she didn't intend to let him know that she was going home. The guy had a tendency to act rashly and he might just lock her in a closet somewhere to keep her from boarding the airplane. No, the best plan of action was to sneak away. She'd ghost him—one minute there, the next minute gone. She was sure Jaiden would understand what she'd done and why, but she doubted he'd tell his friend that he was the one who'd caused her to leave.

She sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Boris, do you have a lady friend?" she asked.

The guy stared at her, his face unchanging.

"I imagine you must have liked somebody once, right?" she asked.

Once again, Boris didn't say anything.

"Thanks." She groaned and lay back down again. "Good talk."

She'd just begun to torture herself with her thoughts
some more when something banged in the hall. Boris was on his guard so fast it put her to shame. Leaping to her feet a moment after he did, she sunk into her battle stance.

"Stay here." Boris gave her a pointed look.

Boris stepped outside, shutting the door behind him. She heard pounding footsteps, a loud bang, and then nothing. That wasn't good. Her heart pounded and her adrenaline rushed. The door creaked open. She hoped to see Boris's mountainous form in the threshold, but instead she saw a tall, skinny guy with spiky brown hair. It was Nathan. His face was pale and his mouth was thin. He had the look of a tired, desperate person. At his feet, Boris lay crumbled.

"You know that you destroyed everything, right?" Nathan
said, taking a step toward her.

I can
fight him!
she thought, eyeballing his slight frame.
But wait a second; Boris couldn't be taken down by a guy this small.
She realized she wasn't seeing the whole picture. It wouldn't be good to launch herself at him without knowing the situation. The guy may have a gun.

"I didn't do anything
to you," she said.

Come on, Boris.
Get up and help me.

"You did, though." Nathan took anot
her stepped toward her. "You make my life so difficult. It's your fault the cops are after me."

"What?" she snapped. "You're really blaming the fact you're being chased by the police on me
? You're crazy. I never told you to push Owen down the stairs."

"Don't call me crazy
," he whispered, his face twisting to the point he looked inhuman.

She'd met people
who were a little deranged before, but they were nothing like this. She'd always believed that insanity was something on the inside, but Nathan was now wearing his mental instability as war paint.

"You can still stop this," she said.
"Think of the consequences. You're already in trouble with the police as it is."

"I can't stop," he said.
"If I get rid of you, then everything will be fine."

"Why?" she asked. "
That doesn't make any sense. Why would you want to kill somebody you don't even—"

Nathan took her be
dside drawer and threw it to the ground. Her alarm clock and hair ties scattered on the floor.

"You're just like the others—my parents, my brother." Nathan's nostrils flared. "
'That doesn't make any sense, Nathan.' 'You're going to therapy, Nathan.' It's such crap."

The wildness in Nathan's eyes was escalating. She knew she couldn't
just stand here much longer. If the guy had a weapon, he would have used it by now.

"Nathan, you really need help," she said.

Nathan roared a swearword. In his moment of rage, she charged. She shoved her fist straight into his nose. There was a crack as the cartilage broke beneath her knuckle. She finished him off with a kick straight to the groin which sent him falling to his knees, sputtering. The guy would be lucky if he could ever have children again. As he coughed and called her more horrid names, she jumped over Boris and rushed into the hall. She would get help for her bodyguard and for herself. Just as she passed the third door down, somebody jumped out of the corridor to her right and tackled her straight to the floor. Even though her head hit soft carpet, her skull throbbed and she knew she'd have a heck of a goose egg in the morning—if she ever lived to see it, that is.

The guy who'd thrown her to the
floor straddled her. A second boy stepped out of the hall behind him. He held a stun gun. She punched the guy who straddled her in the diaphragm. His flesh was soft and flabby beneath her hard fist. His hazel eyes widened in shock and he fell to one side, clutching his bulging belly. She leapt to her feet and faced the skinnier guy with the stun gun.

"
Stun her, Lee!" Nathan howled. "She's more dangerous than she looks!"

"She's a girl, man," the boy replied, his hand shaking. "I've never stunned no girl before."

"You idiot," Nathan growled.

Nathan
ran toward her.
I have to escape!
she thought, her heart pounding wildly. Even she couldn't win when it was three against one. She knocked the stun gun from Lee's hand and it fell to the floor. Just as she stepped toward the door, the large guy she'd punched seized her by her ankles and threw her to the carpet again.

"Nice one, Evan," Nathan said.

No,
she thought as Nathan's face loomed above her.

His
expression was more deranged than ever.

"You think you're so tough,
don't you?" Nathan hissed as he held onto his broken nose. "If you beg, I'll kill you in a way that doesn't hurt."

She spit right into Nathan's face.

Madness reared its ugly head once more. Nathan drew back his fist and plunged it straight into her face. Everything went black.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Annamarie ran down a corridor of the academy. A figure pursued her. She could hear his feet on the carpet and knew he was growing closer with every step.  

I've g
ot to escape!
she thought, her fists pumping at her sides.

Unfortunately, that was when the stalker t
ackled her to the floor. She opened her eyes, her breathing heavy, and stared straight into the face of a monster with dripping yellow fangs and glowing red eyes.

"Let me go!" she screamed, flailing desperately

She opened her eyes and sucked in air. Where was she? Why did her head throb so much? It took a moment for her to remember what had happened. She tasted blood in her mouth and her head was on fire. Nathan's punch had done a lot of damage.

At first she wanted to burst into tears and cry
until she was all dried up. She was in a lot of pain, her wrists and ankles were bound, and a psycho planned to kill her. She had more than enough reasons to weep. But what would tears buy her? The most they could do was wash away the blood on her face. She needed to remain calm and study her surroundings. Maybe she could escape.

She seemed to be in a warehouse of some kind. The
floor was pale grey cement. Piles of old wood were stacked in the corner. She assumed they were the remains of shipping crates. A dirty window looked out on a dark, empty street.
Okay,
she thought.
Now let's test these ropes
. She shifted back and forth, attempting to loosen her bindings. The rope bit into the skin of her wrists and ankles.
Whatever you do, don't panic.
That was hard not to do. She wondered if she'd ever see her dad or little brother again.

As she whimpered, she continued to
move her wrists back and forth. Minutes oozed by. As she trembled, she felt something vibrate in her jean pocket.
My phone!
She froze, her eyes wide in surprise. Nathan hadn't thought of everything. He'd forgotten to check to see if she had her cell phone.

She
could call for help if only she got free. Even though the vibrating stopped, she continued to fight the ropes on her wrists in desperation. If she didn't free herself now, she was going to die.

"Oh please." She squeezed her eyes shut a
s a rebellious tear trickled down her cheek. "Oh please, please, please."

The door to the warehouse opened
. She went rigid in her seat, blood trickling down her wrists. Lee and Evan, Nathan's cronies, walked in.

"Keep it together, man," Evan said. "It's just a girl."

"But I didn't sign up for this crap," Lee said. "I don't hurt no chicks, man."

"Think of the money we'll get," Evan said. "Nathan is filthy rich."

"I don't care no more," Lee said. "I don't want to hurt no chick."

"What are you going to do?" Evan seized Lee by the front of his shirt and held him against the wall. "
You'd better not call the cops. If you screw this up for me, I'll freaking kill you."

"
Okay, man." Lee's eyes bulged out of his head. "I got it."

Finally, Evan released Lee. She was shaking. During that moment, she realized how innocent she'd been before. What she'd seen in karate class was nothing compared to watching one
man choke another. She sunk her teeth into her bottom lip to keep from crying out in fear. Unfortunately, even though she was silent, Evan made eye contact with her. A slow grin crossed his fat face.

"You're finally
awake," Evan said. "I thought that maybe Nathan put you in a coma with his punch."

She glared at the guy,
which was all she could do during that moment. The ropes around her wrists and ankles still wouldn't budge.

"You okay?" Lee asked, taking a step toward her.

"Who cares if she's okay?" Evan drove his elbow into the guy's stomach, stopping his progress. "We're going to kill her as soon as Nathan gets back."

Crap, crap, crap. She was too young to die.
She had to develop a plan of action. Right now she couldn't do anything with her karate skills while tied to a chair. The only thing standing between her and imminent doom was her brain. Finally, she came up with an idea—she could turn everyone against each other.

"Nathan doesn't have any money," she said.

Evan stilled.

"You're going to kill me and get sent to prison for the rest of your life," she continued. "What were you going to do
after you killed me? Go to Mexico or something? Well, good luck with that. You're going to have a hard time getting out of the city let alone the country with no money in your pocket."

Evan suddenly looked a lot more worried than before. Even
Lee wrung his hands, his thick brows furrowing.

"You serious?" Lee aske
d. "Nathan's mom is rich, isn't she?"

"Do you really think his mom would give you money for killing me?" S
he wrinkled her nose. "She sent an investigator to look for Nathan. She plans to turn him in the moment she finds him."

"
Oh, crap." Lee ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't believe you." Evan glared at her. "
Nathan goes to that fancy academy and everything. You have to be rich to even get into a place like that. Pedigree students only."

"His mom paid for him to go to the academy."
Please let this work.

Evan didn't say anything.

"We should get outta here, man." Lee glanced at the other guy worriedly.

"Now wait just one second." Evan's
face became the color of a ripe plum. "I don't know how much of this crap I believe. She'll say anything to escape."

"But
what she just said makes sense." Lee ground his teeth. "We don't want to hurt a nice girl anyway. How would you feel if somebody wanted to kill Trisha? You love your woman."

"Don't even joke about that." Evan shook
his head.

It's working
!

"See." Lee glanced at her. "She's a pretty
girl like Trisha, right? Let's not kill her and just scram. We'll get money a different way."

"I still think she's faking it." Evan glowered. "For two million dollars, I'd kill me own mother."

"Don't say crap like that." Lee looked disgusted.

No. She was losing Evan again. He distrusted her and it showed.

"Ask him for half the money before you kill me," she blurted out. "He won't be able to give it to you."

Evan's eyes darkened as he looked at her. "Maybe I'll do just that."

The guy pulled his phone from his pocket and called Nathan. She felt like she was awaiting her death verdict. What if by some cruel turn of fate Nathan actually had the money to pay off these guys? She didn't believe his mom would hand him two million dollars to pay for hit men, but Nathan had found a way to manipulate Bridget. Maybe he'd gotten money some way.

A moment of silence went by. Evan swore.

"Nathan's not answering his phone." Evan placed his cell back into his pocket. "I'm going to have a one-on-one talk with the guy. No way I'm killing a girl for free. It's one thing to do it for two millions dollars, but it's another for nothing."

"I don't feel so good.
" Lee clutched his stomach. "Let's just let her go. You won't tell on us, will you, girly?"

"No." She
ground her teeth. "I won't tell. If you let me go now, I'll say this was all Nathan's doing."

"No. That's not how things are going
down." Evan growled. "I'm talking to Nathan. If I have a chance to get two million dollars, I'm not giving up."

Lee said, "But man—"

Evan seized Lee by his shirt collar and snarled at him again.

"While I'm gone, y
ou won't let her go," Evan said. "If I come back and she's free, you'll be the one who has to worry about dying, do you understand me?"

"Y-yeah, man." Lee nodded.

"Good." Evan looked smug. "Now be good, kiddies. Papa has some talking to do."

The guy marched out of the warehouse.

****

Annamarie stared straight ahead, looking out the window. In the past half an hour, she hadn't seen a single person walk by.
Where the heck am I?
In New York City, people normally filled up the streets to the point where it was hard to move. She groaned and glanced at Lee who was sitting in the corner staring at his sneakers. The guy made eye contact with her for the first time since they'd been left alone.

"Does your head hurt?" Lee asked. "It looks like it
does."

"It feels like somebody hit me over the head with a hammer," she admitted.

But she had bigger worries than a concussion.

Lee hopped off his chair and walked over to
her. To her surprise, he gently smoothed her black hair from her face. He smelled of cigarettes and earth.

"You have a bump on your
forehead. That's no good. You're really hurt." Lee removed his hand. "My mom would be so disappointed if she saw me right now. I shouldn't be here."

"
Imagine what would happen if you go to jail for murder," she said. "You wouldn't be able to see her anymore."

"I can't see her no more anyway," Lee said. "She's dead. My dad too. I'm
alone and taking care of my little brother right now, but he ain't doing so hot. He's real sick. The doctor told me he has leuke…leukem…I can't remember it. I'm too dumb for medical words."

"Leukemia?" she asked
, figuring out what the guy meant at once. "He has leukemia?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "You
're real smart. But of course you are. You go to a fancy academy and all that. I never even made it through high school. That's part of my problem. I'm too slow to do much, but I need money. I thought maybe I could kill some bad dude to save my little brother, but not some nice girl."

She shouldn't have felt bad for him. Regardless of his reasons, the guy
had allowed her to be hurt and tied to a chair. Still pity crashed over her, even when it shouldn't have. 

"What if I can help both of us?" she asked. "There's a cell phone in my pocket. You wouldn't have to set me free or anything. Just call Daniel and tell him where I am. Evan will come back and I'll still be tied up. He'll never know what you did."

Lee's eyes brightened. "I never thought of doing something like that. You think it'll work?"

"Yeah."
Please hurry
.

At first Lee didn't say anything. After
a moment's hesitation, he nodded.

"Which pocket
is your cell in?" he asked.

"My left one," she said.

The guy pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"This is a fancy
cell you got here." Lee gulped as he pushed random buttons. "I don't know nothing about phones like this."

"Go to my address book," she said. "
It should be a little book icon. Do you see what I mean?"

"Yeah." Lee pushed a button. "
Who was it you wanted me to call again?"

"Daniel," she said.

"Daniel," he repeated.

It took him a long time to find Daniel's name considering the fact she only had fifteen contacts stored in her phone. Finally, he pressed the call button and placed the phone against his ear. Somebody picked up within seconds.

Even from where she sat, she heard Daniel yell, "Annamarie, where the heck are you?"

Lee winced and held the
phone a few inches from his ear.

"This ain't Annamarie," Lee said. "This is Lee."

"Lee, if you don't tell me where you took Annamarie, I'll—"

"I'm going to tell you." Lee sighed. "She's here with me. You
've got to hurry, though. The others are coming and they aren't nearly as nice as I am."

"Where are you?" Daniel was still yelling at the top of his lungs.

Lee rattled off the address of the warehouse. It was on a street she'd never heard of before
. I can't believe it. I might not die after all.
She breathed a sigh of relief, even though her heart still raced a thousand miles per hour.

"It's done.
He's coming." Lee held out the phone to her and then froze, his expression sheepish. "Crap. For a moment I forgot you can't use your hands. I'm not used to girls being tied up around me."

"Hopefully that's something you never get used to," she said. "Thanks, Lee. If I l
ive through this, I'll make sure to tell the police that you helped me."

"Thanks." Lee nodded. "Now I just hope I don't die
myself. I've been on the streets for a long time and have met some crazy people, but I've never seen somebody as nuts as that Nathan guy. He'd eat his own kids if he had any."

She would have to agree. Nathan was as crazy as
they came.